‘My family couldn’t visit me’: ‘Hot Felon’ opens up about how viral fame turned his jail life upside down

Jeremy Meeks became one of the internet’s most unlikely celebrities in 2014 when a police mugshot, showing his piercing blue eyes and chiseled cheekbones, spread rapidly across social media, earning him nicknames such as “Hot Felon” and “Prison Bae”.

That attention would later open doors into modelling and film. But Meeks has now described how the same viral fame made parts of his time in custody harder, including limiting contact with his own family.

From Stockton arrest to global attention

Meeks was arrested in 2014 in Stockton as part of a multi-agency operation involving federal and local law enforcement. He faced five weapons charges and a gang-related charge after police said he was found with a semiautomatic handgun and extended magazines.

When the Stockton Police Department posted his mugshot on Facebook, the response was immediate and unusually large, with tens of thousands of likes and comments. According to the BBC, a spokesperson at the time said they had not seen that level of engagement on any previous post.

The image quickly circulated far beyond police pages, turning Meeks into a viral figure while he was still in custody. He has since said he did not initially understand what “going viral” meant, only realising the scale when he began seeing his own image repeatedly on television inside the jail.

In 2015, he was convicted of felony firearm possession and sentenced to 27 months in prison. He was released in March 2016 after serving around 13 months.

Fame inside jail: visits, letters and disruption

During an episode of Inside True Crime, published on Sunday, 22 March, Meeks said the attention translated into constant contact from strangers while he was being held at Sacramento County Jail.

He said inmates were limited to two visits per week, but those slots were often taken by people he did not know.

“I'm getting random people visiting me and I'm denying them before I even walk up the stairs into the section and I'm like, ‘I don't know who that person is!’ I could see him through the glass. I'm like, ‘I don't know who that person is!’”

Even when he refused the visits, he said they were still counted.

“They're like, ‘Well, I'm still taking your visit. You can deny it, but I'm still going to take your visit for the week.’ So now my family can't come because I got f---ing random people coming to see me and it was so frustrating.”

The attention extended to mail as well. Meeks said that within days of the mugshot spreading, he was receiving hundreds of letters.

“I would say on the third day, that's when just... floods and floods of letters from all over the world. I was probably getting 300 letters a day,” he said.

“It was just too much. I’m getting naked pictures, money orders — just all kinds of money being sent in.”

He also described the effect on court appearances, saying media presence surged.

“Every time I went into the courtroom there was 100 reporters and everyone was fighting each other for better angles and the judge is screaming. It was like a zoo in there.”



Meeks further claimed that some correctional officers treated him harshly during that period, saying he was beaten “for a while”, though he added he did not have issues with other inmates.

Life after release: modelling, film and public profile

After his release in 2016, Jeremy Meeks moved quickly into the fashion industry, signing with a modelling agency and beginning a career that few would have predicted from his circumstances.

One of his earliest public steps came when he shared his first post after leaving prison, posing alongside photographer Jim Jordan while announcing that he had signed with a management company. At the time, he wrote: “I want to thank my family and everybody for all your love, support and prayers. I'm overwhelmed and grateful for what lies ahead. I'm ready.”


He made his runway debut in 2017, walking for designer Philipp Plein at New York Fashion Week, and went on to appear in shows in New York and Milan, as well as in campaigns and magazine features. In 2018, he also featured in the Tommy Hilfiger x Gigi Hadid show, further establishing his presence in mainstream fashion.

He later appeared in films including True to the Game, Dutch and Secret Society, and published a memoir, Model Citizen, charting his path from incarceration to international modelling work.

Beyond fashion and film, Meeks has spoken about working with underprivileged young people, using his own experience to steer others away from crime and gang involvement.

Personal life and relationships

Meeks was previously married to Melissa Meeks, with whom he shares a son. The couple divorced in 2018 after nearly a decade together.

He later began a relationship with Chloe Green, daughter of retail businessman Philip Green. The pair welcomed a child in 2018 before separating in 2019.

In more recent interviews, Meeks has said he is single and focused on his work and personal development, while maintaining a co-parenting relationship with both of his former partners, whom he has described as “incredible mothers”.