I'm A Prison Officer & I Married An Inmate | LOVE DON'T JUDGE

TAMEKA is a retired correctional officer who lives in New York. She has been married to her husband Jonathan, an inmate since 2022. They first met as children, and Jonathan had a big crush on his future wife. The pair lost contact as adults, going on two very different paths. Jonathan committed a crime which led to him being sentenced to 25 years to life in prison, while Tameka started working as an officer in a facility. 14 years after they had last spoken, Jonathan reached out to her again via letter and Tameka went to visit him. After falling back in love Jonathan proposed and they wed inside a prison. She retired as a correctional officer aged just 30, getting a lifetime pension. She spoke to Love Don't Judge about what life is like now, as an ex-officer married to an inmate: "I visit Jonathan every weekend. It takes me about 12 hours total. Six hours going, six hours coming [back]". She continued: "When I visit Jonathan in prison, some of the officer's reactions [are] a little bit confused because they don't know which side of the law I am on. They be like, 'She's married to an inmate, but she's also one of us.' Because if they do something wrong, they think I'm going to report them." Tameka now speaks out on social media about injustices within the system. "I started sharing my story online because I had a very unique story and I felt like the world needed to know it's okay to love who you want to love. The judgement that I faced when I started my relationship [was] 'he's going to take your pension, he's going to get everything that you got out, you are a bad officer. The Department of Corrections should have never hired you." Other criticisms thrown her way are, "You stupid, for marrying an inmate, you an inmate lover, I know those officers hate your a**". Tameka reflected on her situation now that she's "definitely isolated. I feel like I can't have any friends because my friends will judge me. They will also give bad advice and tell me, don't be with somebody in prison." But for her, being married to her husband makes it all worth it. "Jonathan has changed my life for the better because he made me a wife and I don't take that for granted. He's my greatest blessing. So the people who judge me and Jonathan, go look in the mirror. Go judge yourself."