Too Hot To Handle reality TV personality marries a prisoner, referring to them as “modern-day Romeo and Juliet.”
Laura Gehrke, who starred in Netflix’s Too Hot To Handle Germany, wed Joshua Stewart earlier this month in a jail ceremony in the state of Washington after they first connected online.
Debates about inmate romances have been sparked by the marriage of a former reality TV star to a prisoner she met online.
This past June, Laura Gehrke, who starred in Netflix’s Too Hot To Handle Germany, wed Joshua Stewart in a Washington state prison.
Through WriteAPrisoner.com, the odd couple got in touch last December.
Gehrke, a realtor by trade, felt alone during the holiday season in Dubai because she couldn’t go home because of visa issues. Gehrke contacted Stewart.
According to the Express US, what started out as poetic exchanges quickly developed into eleven-hour-long phone talks.
Stewart proposed after a fast-paced six-week relationship, and four months later they were exchanging vows. Within the jail walls, a fellow prisoner served as the best man for the ninety-minute ceremony.
“It felt very natural,” Gehrke said. She went on, “Our families are really supportive.”
Stewart is incarcerated for the homicide using a controlled drug. Gehrke said that she initially focused on learning about his past rather than looking into his criminal act.
“Because I knew the backstory, it didn’t change my opinion of him,” she said.
Their love story has faced scrutiny on social media, with some suggesting Stewart might be exploiting Gehrke financially or casting doubt on her decision-making.
Gehrke dismissed the doubters, saying, “They can’t believe it’s real love.”
Later this year, the pair hopes to get consent for conjugal visits. When Stewart is freed from house jail in December 2025, Gehrke intends to travel to the US to be with him.
