A Canadian woman has told Newsweek about trying to conceive with her husband, who is serving time for second-degree murder.
Larissa King, 36, met her husband during COVID-19 while brought in casually to help supervise in the kitchen. “It wasn’t until after I was no longer working there … that I reached out to him,” she said.
Now, years later, their relationship has weathered challenges most couples never face.
King always imagined having a big family, but in 2023, she was diagnosed with diminished ovarian reserve, a condition that drastically reduces fertility.
“I started my fertility journey with my goal to actually freeze my eggs to wait for my husband to get fully released from his incarceration, but with that diagnosis, all of my doctors told me to start trying now,” King said. Even with donor eggs, that window was closing.
It was a devastating diagnosis for King. “During that appointment with my fertility doctor all he said to me was sorry,” she recalled.
In Vancouver, Canada, where King lives, conjugal visits—called private family visits—offer rare opportunities of normalcy.
King told Newsweek that the visits are something she looks forward to every four to eight weeks, and she will get her hair done especially.
“It’s a much-nicer process now that my husband is in a lower-security institution; not stressful whatsoever,” King said. “After our visits, I do get sad for a couple of days, but then we start planning our next one.”
The logistics behind the visits involve arranging child care for her daughter, organizing a dog-sitter, and preparing her home.
But King told Newsweek that it used to be more complicated than that.
“At his old institution, I would have to wash everything, including toiletries with Dawn dish soap to avoid any potential risk of cross-contamination for various products,” King said. “The whole process was very stressful back then; it’s a lot more simple now.”
King told Newsweek that she is not worried about raising a child with a man behind bars, as he is due to be released soon.
She started sharing her journey on her Instagram profile (@ttc.prison.wife) to spread awareness of not only infertility but also those who are affected by their loved one being incarcerated.
“I’m not here to try and make people understand anything about my decision,” King said.
“I understand how the term ‘second-degree murder’ sounds—it’s a heavy and serious label that brings up strong reactions, but what many people don’t realize is that not all crimes, even serious ones, are the same.”
King said how, in Canada, the system values rehabilitation, and she said her husband has shown remorse and accountability.
As she continues to share her story online, King said that many women have reached out privately—some dealing with infertility and others who also have incarcerated partners.
However, above all, her message is one of empathy and visibility. “Families look different—it’s 2025. I think it’s time that people should try to understand that love, commitment, and family don’t always look the way society expects them to,” she said.
“Just because someone is incarcerated doesn’t mean they stop being a human capable of love, growth and parenthood.”
The post ‘I Married a Prisoner, Now We’re Struggling To Conceive’ appeared first on Newsweek.
