THE FIRST TIME Erica and Austin met in person was not your typical first date, in some bar or restaurant. It was outside the gates of a prison in Iowa, on his release day after serving a seven year sentence for his part in an armed robbery. They had been put in touch seven months earlier by a mutual friend, who had suggested that realtor Erica may be able to help Austin find a place to live once he got out. And though romance was the furthest thing from both their minds at the time, the more they talked on the phone, the stronger their feelings for one another grew. She said: "It was very difficult being with somebody that was in prison, but at the same time, it was rewarding because we got to know each other on such an intimate level before getting to physically be together." There were times that loved ones questioned why Erica was turning down dates to stay home and talk to a man in prison thousands of miles away. But they soon came around once they saw how happy she was. The couple have also faced their fair share of criticism from online trolls. "It made me wonder how can people pass so much judgement without knowing our true story?" She said. "A 15 to 16 second clip online doesn't mean you know someone, and what's happening behind the scenes." Happily, Erica and Austin don't take the negativity to heart - and proved all the haters wrong when they tied the knot days after Christmas 2021. She concluded: "Getting to know Austin has really opened my eyes to the criminal justice system. I believe there's a lot of people that are in prison that should not be there. I'm really excited for this next chapter. The future is bright." https://www.instagram.com/erica.and.austin/ and https://www.tiktok.com/@erica_and_austin?lang=en