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She already had a terrible romantic experience with an inmate in California, but that didn't stop Hope from falling hard for JD, a man currently behind bars in Georgia.
Hope met JD, whom she calls "real old-school, real Georgia" about a year ago through WriteAPrisoner.com.
(Hope's story is the sixth in our prison series. Click here, here, here, here, and here for the others. Hope and JD only wanted to be identified by their first names.)
Before Hope found her Prince Charming in JD, it sounds like she had to kiss a pretty nasty frog.
She was involved with a man incarcerated in California who told her she never did enough for him even though she moved in with his dying mother, said Hope, who's 48 and lives in Ohio.
But then, about a year ago, she met JD through WriteAPrisoner.com and the two have been involved ever since.
JD was arrested in 2005 for strong-armed robbery. He isn't expected to be released until 2020, so in the meantime the pair is developing their relationship remotely.
While the two haven't been able to meet in person yet, Hope hopes to be approved to visit JD in the next month or so. In the meantime, they're spending "a lot of time on the phone," Hope said.
"It too has been fantastic," she said.
Hope even traveled to Georgia to spend time with JD's family.
As for her family, which is comprised only of her two kids and a sister, they didn't support her relationship with the inmate in California but seem more accepting of her connection with JD.
"You know, whatever I want to do is OK with them, you know, just be careful," she said of her family's attitude. "Even my best friend, she's like 'you know, if you're good with it we've got your back. Do what you've got to do.""
Hope and JD have briefly discussed marriage and currently there are plans for Hope to move to Georgia before JD gets released.
Hope, who suffers from depression, said she feels so much better about herself now that she has JD in her life.
"I've got three ex-husbands and none of them ever spoke to me the way he has," Hope said of JD.
He respects her feelings and lets her lean on him during bouts of depression, Hope said.
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