A former prison worker who married an inmate now enjoys four-day conjugal visits while she tries for a baby with the murderer - despite losing friends and family over her decision.

Archaeologist Larissa King mether husband Ryan King, 42, when she got a job working in a prison kitchen during the Covid pandemic but they did not talk much as the time, she said. The 35-year-old was let go from the job and started training to become a probation officer in April 2021, after which she decided to reach out to a prisoner to discuss ways to help inmates readjust to life after release.

The mum-of-one said she reached out to her now husband because she knew he had not committed any crimes against women or children and the pair began exchanging letters. Larissa, from Vancouver, Canada, stopped pursuing a career as a probation officer but they kept in touch, their letters progressing to phone calls before Ryan popped the question during their second in-person visit.

The couple got married in March 2023, two years after they first met. Ryan is currently serving a 15-years-to-life sentence for second degree murder. Larissa says she has lost friends and family because of her decision but most of her loved ones are supportive. She stands by her decision and the pair are now trying for a baby together during their conjugal visits - some of which last for four days.

Mum-of-one Larissa says she's lost friends and family over her decision (

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Ryan is serving 15-years-to-life for second degree murder (

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Larissa said: "It's a very weird concept that I don't think a lot of people understand and I know even some of my family members questioned it of course and I was always very forthcoming with them. My mom is coming around, she's spoken to him a couple of times. My dad and my stepmom were supportive from the get-go.

"[Some loved ones] have stepped away from my life because [they] are uncomfortable with my husband's charges and I've always said I would never force my relationship on any of them. So I was always very honest and open if anyone ever wanted to talk and it took them a long time to be transparent about their feelings and so I haven't seen them for a while but you know it's not for everybody and I understand that.

"You know, hopefully we can reconnect eventually. It was a little premature that they axed us because my husband is still incarcerated. The majority of my friends are indifferent or some are very supportive. I have two who are extremely supportive and one who I had to take a friendship break from. I get it, it's difficult but at the same time it's also the biggest part of my life."

"She would always have physical responses that were telling her truths. She would be saying 'oh I'm okay with it' but then she would flinch at his name. I hope that we can talk more in the future but I think for my health and wellness it was best for me to take a step back from that friendship for right now.

Larissa and Ryan spending time together during a conjugal visit (

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"There is a lot that obviously went into his judgement. The biggest thing was that he did not come forward with his crime. They deemed it a vigilante killing. So that played a big part in his sentencing. Personally I think he should have gotten manslaughter and even the most recent lawyers I've been on the phone with for parole and telling them a little bit about his crime and his charge they all agree he should have gotten manslaughter."

After dating over the phone for around a year, Larissa went to see Ryan in prison for the first time since they had worked together in the kitchen. Larissa said: "I was apprehensive for a long time to go and actually see him in person. We wrote a couple of times and then I gave him my phone number because I thought it would be easier that way and then we started talking on the phone maybe once a week. It was very limited and then that turned to twice a week, three times a week, every day, multiple times a day.

"When we really started talking on the phone it was the end of 2021, I'd say around November and then by February I knew I loved this man. I actually spoke to a therapist, a professional to see and understand my feelings. Like why is this happening? Is this real? I was very confused and my therapist was like it seems like it was just an unconventional meeting but it seems like your feelings are valid. I was like I really need to see him in person, I'm going crazy. I remember being so nervous. It had been a long time.

"I saw him walking up through the windows, you could see them coming up from their lower compound area and I was just sweating bullets. He proposed on my second in-person visit. I thought I was going to puke. We're talking and we were sitting on this table with the two chairs right by a window. A nice scenic background of barbed chain link fence and there was a playground there.

"He asked me to get up so he could see my outfit. He made me do a twirl. When I came back around he was on his knee with a fake, obviously there was nothing in his hand because he can't bring anything into the visiting centre. I was just like oh my god what is happening and then he had this whole spiel. I could tell he was so nervous too, he was getting all fluttery and said his speech and you could see everyone was looking over.

"I could also see, because I was facing the guard's bubble, and they're all looking over because it looks like well, he might have something in his hand. I said yes and you're allowed to have brief embraces in the visiting centre so [we had] a hug and a kiss."

Ryan's mother wired Larissa money from his account to purchase a ring and she bought her wedding dress and shoes from Amazon. Ryan paid another inmate who used to be a tailor in fizzy pop and a packet of crisps to take his measurements for his shirt and trousers. The couple wed on 3 March 2023 in the prison and because of a lengthy paperwork process were not able to spend their wedding night together. They had their first conjugal visit on 4 July and now have them every six weeks. They can be as long as four days.

Larissa said the visits take place in private cabins complete with a living room and a kitchen on the prison grounds away from the general population units. Larissa said: "I was so nervous for that too I think it was even worse with the wait because you know it's coming and we had never been intimate at all. The most we'd had was light kisses in the visitors centre.

Larissa and Ryan dancing at their wedding in prison (

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Larissa says people can be judgemental about her marriage (

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"We had never been alone together ever. It was worth the wait. It was also difficult to wait that long. It was nice to have that important time together." The pair began trying for a baby on only their second conjugal visit and Larissa says it is difficult to align the visits they have every six weeks with her ovulation phase. She then discovered she had low levels of Anti-Mullerian Hormone (AMH) meaning her ovaries produce fewer eggs than usual.

Larissa said: "It's frustrating. So we did try to schedule our conjugals to coincide with my fertile window and this was before I got my diagnosis and I would always ovulate early. I was thinking about my age at that time, being 34. Infertility wasn't even on my brain at that point but I knew I always wanted more children so at the end of the day I was like you know timing is going to be difficult so let's start trying, that was my mentality.

"I did get my fertility clinic on board with trying intrauterine inseminations with me but we need to get my husband to the fertility clinic for his specimen drop off which is proving very difficult. It's deemed a non-emergency medical procedure and they are allowed to do that but it will just be out of pocket for the inmates so they would have to pay for basically the van transportation, the guard's salary for the time per kilometre. It's a very slow, exhausting process."

Although Ryan has now served his minimum sentence and is eligible to apply for parole, there is a possibility this could be denied and he may not be present to parent the baby. Larissa said: "It would suck if he wasn't around to raise our child together, of course, and it's very likely because he does have a life sentence, most lifers don't get parole the first, maybe not even the second time.

"I had to really sit down and could I do this alone, if we are successful with conception? My finances are established. I could afford to be on maternity leave with a single income house. I've raised my daughter on my own so I've done it once before and I always said I don't want to do that again. I even said that to my husband while we were talking and then you know all that goes out the window and I'm just like this is my person, I'd like to expand my family now. It is a real possibility that it would take a couple attempts for him to get parole."

However, not everybody is supportive of her decision and Larissa often has negative comments on her TikTok page. Larissa said: "People don't understand and I don't fault them for that. "A lot of the stuff they are saying has to do with my infertility so you know just personally, even if I didn't agree with someone's life choices I would never say the things that they have said towards me and my struggles with fertility which I view as a disease. I would never do that but I guess I'm a different calibre than some of my online fans.”