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I Married A Prisoner & He's Getting Out Soon | LOVE DON'T JUDGE
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Apr 7, 2025
CARLA and Erik have spent their 10-year relationship – seven of which they’ve been married – living separately. Erik is serving a 13-year prison sentence and the couple met a year into his incarceration. Out of their decade-long relationship, Carla estimates she and her husband have spent approximately 50 days together. Carla’s family were worried to learn she was not only dating someone in prison but someone convicted of a violent crime. Erik’s 13-year sentence is for attempted murder. Erik is released later this year and the couple are preparing to go from 15-minute daily phone calls and love letters to living together 24/7.
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0:00
This is Carla
0:02
I'm telling you, this house is crazy. She fell in love with... Eric
0:08
When I tell people that I am married to somebody that's in prison, they think like, oh, what did he do? Did he kill somebody
0:14
And I'm just like, no. Close to that, but... Eric is currently serving a 13-year prison sentence
0:21
for attempted murder. When I found out about all, like, the crimes and stuff
0:27
I'm just like, you are crazy. Yes. That's what I said. And when these two got together, there were many that didn't approve the match
0:35
When we first started talking, my family was not okay with me dating him
0:39
Her brother had told me that she's dating some guy in prison. I was like, oh my gosh, that's crazy
0:45
With Eric's release on the horizon, will their relationship finally get the acceptance they long for
0:51
She married this guy and he's in there for something violent. It does scare me a little bit
0:59
So I have a lot of his stuff that he has sent me over the years
1:08
I have some drawings. So he did this one probably before we got married, so like 2012, 11
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This card, he put Eric and Carla. I am married to an incarcerated man that is serving 13 years for attempted murder
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He was a part of a gang when he was younger. We met while he was already serving his time
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He was one year into his sentence. It's not every day you meet the love of your life
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and they're locked up in prison. But for Carla and Eric, romance blossomed while he was behind bars
1:41
He contacted his friend, which was dating my cousin, and she asked me if I would talk to somebody
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And then she told me he was incarcerated, so I told her no. She got me to write him and then the rest is history
1:58
As a criminal, people think, like, he's just, like, wanting to beat up people and, like, do stuff to people
2:04
And I'm like, he has feelings. He gets sad. He gets emotional. If he was a hardcore, crazy person, he wouldn't be sending all these little lovey-dovey stuff
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These are all the letters from 2010, 12, 13. So let's just say, like, I love you with all my heart, princess
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You are the most beautiful thing that has ever happened in my life
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I never pictured myself in a relationship with an inmate. There nobody in my family that has ever been to prison I had my doubts because you never know So I still think about it It in the back of my head I don just live like a fairytale world where I like ah I in love
2:47
The couple have been together for 10 years, and Eric is serving a 13-year sentence
2:52
These are some of the pictures that I have of me and him. These are all just contact visits, just regular visits
3:00
The couple's entire relationship has been while Eric has been in prison. even their wedding day happened in jail this is a very special picture for me the day we got
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married my parents didn't go so i only had my cousin there with me carla's mother did not approve
3:16
of the marriage but despite that the pair went ahead and tied the knot my mom was not okay with
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it obviously she wanted me to wait until he got out to marry him that didn't happen um so they
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were not okay and my mom didn't talk to me for like a month when I got married but then she got
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over it I guess and she's okay with it now. Carla has found being married to an incarcerated man
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brings a lot of snap judgments about her choice of husband. When I tell people that I am married to somebody that's in prison you know they think like oh he's
3:51
a criminal what did he do did he kill somebody and I'm just like no close to that but you know
3:58
So that doesn't define him as a person to me. And it's not just the judgment that's difficult
4:04
There are many physical difficulties that come when one half of the couple is behind bars
4:09
So not being able to go out on a real date with my husband
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it sucks because obviously you go out and you see all these couples out there
4:18
just walking around and living their lives. And, you know, I just look forward for my one phone call
4:28
Yeah, this new prison is so stupid. If something happens, there's a lockdown, there's a fight, then there's no phone calls
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This is why I don't wait. Because I'm going to get mad
4:53
Like, you could be in prison, but if you tell me a certain time... You call me at that time
5:00
You know? Like I also have things to do out here. You have a prepaid call from an inmate at
5:13
the Sierra Conservation Center Jamestown California What up baby Hey What are you doing babe Nothing just sitting down What are you doing Nothing waiting for the car because they letting us out late so I going 50 minutes late Sorry
5:30
Oh, hey, guess what? What? Give me, uh, two jobs now. I got two jobs. Not one, two jobs
5:38
Okay, so are they going to pay you? Yes. How much? I don't know yet, so I'm a barber now, I got hair
5:49
Okay, don't up nobody's hair. The phone calls, we get 15 minutes if we're lucky
5:54
It's very annoying because, you know, there's so many things I can, I want to tell him, but then I can't because those 15 minutes go by really fast
6:03
I miss him all the time, you know. What do you want to do the first day you get out? What do you want to do? You haven't told me
6:08
I want to eat a lot of stuff. I want to go out with you. Like, I want to go take you to dinner or something
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Where are you going to take me? I don't want my Donalds. I want to spend something like some dinner, romantic dinner or something
6:18
That'd be nice. Do you feel, like, scared, though, or no? No, I don't feel scared at all
6:23
I don't care about other people. I just want to do me. Catch up to my family, to you
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and you guys come to be a better person than I used to be. Love you
6:33
I love you, Lucita. All right. Come on. Like, now that he's there and he's going to get out
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like, his answers are so much, like, clear. if that makes sense. He gives you a forward answer. Sometimes he'll be like, I don't know
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yet. I don't know. And then now I think, because he's so close to coming home, he's just like
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A, B, C, D. And I'm like, whoa. Society, people think because you're married to somebody in prison
7:02
they think you're like that too. Her brother had told me that she's dating some guy in prison
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And then it wasn't probably until like a year later, I actually found out that they were married. and I was like, oh my gosh, that's crazy
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Like, I don't know anybody who would marry a guy in prison. It was a huge shock and surprise to me
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I was like, how are you going to wait that long, you know? And here we are seven years later
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and he's about to get out in a couple of months. I mean, she married this guy
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and he's in there for something violent. It does scare me a little bit
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but he does seem like he has changed, I hope he does good and stays out of trouble
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Happily for Eric and Carla, his release date is approaching, and they are now looking forward to finally being united outside of prison walls
7:53
Personally, I'm not scared when my husband gets out. I've thought about it a lot
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I think he might actually be a little bit more scared of me Hello Hello Alyssa Hello Carly told me about her relationship I remember the first time that you told me that he was locked up
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I went to work, and I was like, Alyssa, Eric got locked up
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And I was like, oh, my God, why? She was, like, very shocked
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I was so shocked. And then when I found out the reason that he had gotten locked up
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I was even more surprised. Going to be out in four months? Four months. Are you excited
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Obviously, he's been in there for almost 13 years, and he has missed out a lot
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He's missed out his whole 20s, like the funnest years. Drinking, partying, being able to go to the club, just everything
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He doesn't even probably know what a touch screen phone is. He's not going to know what apps are
8:51
That's true. What are you guys going to do first? He's never been to Disneyland, so we plan on going to Disneyland
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Like he's never been there. What would happen if he was to go back into prison
9:02
Bye, . Yeah? I would literally be like, bye, . You guys get one phone call a day now
9:08
You're going to be around each other 24-7. You feel like you're going to have like things like run out of things to talk about or like
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are you nervous to actually have him around all the time? No, I don't think I'm going to be nervous
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I'm just excited for everyone else to meet him too. Like you guys get to meet him
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I know I feel like he's been a part of the family just as long as I have but we've never met so it's it'll be exciting to meet him
9:33
Well she's she's happy with him so why would I go and say like don't be with him just because he is you know in prison
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That's her decision. I feel like they have a lot of love for each other
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I think their relationship when he gets out and they're finally together I think he's going to be even stronger
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despite having spent almost all of their relationship apart with just a few months to go
10:00
before he gets out carla and eric have a lot to look forward to you had a good day today you sound
10:06
really happy very positive i'm happy yeah because maybe you like that cool you babe we're gonna try
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to live a normal life um that's what we want and that's what we plan on doing i cannot wait to just
10:21
like hold his hand and walk down the street just walk down the street with him that's gonna be fun
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