I'm in my 40s and fell in love with a teenage convict in a high-security US prison after writing to him from Essex... we're now planning our wedding

A British woman in her 40s fell in love with a teenage American inmate in a maximum security prison after writing to him from Essex, but the pair are now planning their wedding. Lucy Patterson, 42, first came across Sean Hetzer on a website that allows you to write to prisoners while she was studying a degree in forensic psychology Lucy revealed the first phone call was awkward, and given that Sean was behind bars in a maximum security prison - there were eyes and ears everywhere Lucy said that the 16 year age gap was a worry for the couple initially because Sean wanted children and Lucy wasn't sure if she would be able to have them Lucy said: 'Our relationship happened naturally, the tone of our letters changed. Lucy revealed the first phone call was awkward, and given that Sean was behind bars in a maximum security prison - there were eyes and ears everywhere. Lucy said that the 16 year age gap was a worry for the couple initially because Sean wanted children and Lucy wasn't sure if she would be able to have them. Lucy said she sees a future with the ex-prisoner and spoke of hopes about getting married one day Following their first call, the pair made their relationship official in May 2018 Lucy's closest family didn't know until Sean was already out of prison and in the UK visiting 'Sean wrote a letter and said 'go translate this' and it said love you in Spanish - from there we were official', Lucy said 'His concern was children as I am older, it has been a worry for us throughout the whole relationship.