I married a convict I met while serving his 24-year sentence – then I left him for another man but I made an epic 180
A BRITISH woman who married a US prisoner she’d never met, whilst he was serving a 24-year-sentence, has revealed that she has taken him back, after dumping him for a boyfriend she could be with physically.
Naomi Oquendo, 29, fell in love with Victor Oquendo, 33, whilst the pair were penpals.
Victor shot two men in a gangland hit and played a part in three armed robberies.
He has currently served 14 years of a 24 year prison sentence.
The pair met for the first time in July 2021, and had a jailhouse wedding a month later.
Naomi. from Essex, described Victor as her “soulmate” and said that it does not matter that they can’t be together intimately, as their relationship is deeper than that.
However, their relationship eventually got too much for her, and she decided to break things off with him in August 2022.
Taking to TikTok, she said: “I believe whole heartedly, he is my soulmate, he is my other half, and we are made for each other.
“However, sometimes love is not enough. I had reached a point where I was pouring everything I had into fixing and helping him that I completely lost myself.”
Naomi decided to move on with her life, and said that in the first few months after they broke up if felt like a weight had lifted off her shoulders.
She no longer had to worry about Victor, and eventually met another man, who moved into her apartment.
Naomi tried to convince herself that life with her new man, going on date nights and being together physically was what she wanted.
“But it wasn’t”, she told her TikTok followers.
“I would love to have a husband that lives with me, but I want that with Victor”, she said.
One day, the mother of Victor’s child messaged Naomi to tell her that he had met someone else.
“It felt like someone had punched me in the gut”, she said.
When Naomi realised how much she missed Victor, cracks began to appear in her relationship with her new man, and their relationship eventually ended.
UK Prison Brides
- Tracey Bottomley married double murderer Ernest Otto Smith in the US after meeting through a prison pen pal initiative. Tracey, from West Yorks, knew he had been given a life sentence with no possibility of parole
- Rebecca Short, from Oxfordshire, told her family she was on holiday in the US in 2022. Little did they know she was marrying double murderer Manuel Ovate Jr, who was on death row
- Paula Williamson, an actress who appeared on Hollyoaks and Emmerdale, married the infamous Charles Bronson in 2017 after they became penpals
- Karen Charves married Kenny Richey while he was on death row in 2014. He had been convicted for starting a fire in 1986 that killed his ex-girlfriend’s daughter, aged two. Karen and Kenny’s union did not last and she claimed he was abusive.
- Naomi Wise, from Essex, married Victor Oquendo, nicknamed Animal, while he was serving a 24-year prison term in a US jail. They split up in 2022 but have now rekindled their romance
Then, she re-downloaded the prison messaging service she used to contact Victor, and discovered that he had sent her over 200 messages.
He told her that the girl he had met was “just a comfort” and that his heart would always belong to her.
Naomi raced to contact Victor, and the pair decided to renew their vows over video call, after not seeing each other for two years.
And the pair will soon be reunited in person, as Naomi is planning a trip to the US, to visit her husband.
“The separation has shown me that I would rather struggle in the conditions we’re in than be without him”, she said.
Naomi has started a petition to get Victor’s prison sentence reduced, as she believes that he has served his time.
It currently has 5,000 signatures, and, if approved, would mean that Victor would be out by 2027.
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