Jeremy Meeks has spoken out about how fan behavior made his life frustrating and difficult while he was in prison following his viral mugshot in 2014.
While you may not know him by name, you’ll likely recognise him as his photo was shared endlessly in the mid-2010s.
Meeks became known as the ‘world’s hottest felon’ after his mugshot went viral in 2014. He quickly gained global attention after his face was repeatedly shared on social media.
At the time of the mugshot, he was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm and taken into custody by the Stockton Police Department.
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Over a decade later, Meeks, who is still working as a model, has turned his life around and given insight into becoming a viral sensation overnight.
In a new interview on the Inside True Crime podcast, he vented his frustration at fans who'd prevented him from seeing his family while in prison by taking his visitor passes while he was in prison.
He said: “I’m still a month into my mug shot going viral. This is so fresh that I'm still getting letters. I got random, random f**king people coming up to visit me.”
He remarked that he would tell the guards he didn’t know these people were coming to see him before meeting them, but, due to the strict rules, it would still count as a visit.
He was only allowed two per week, and fans attempting to visit him meant he was unable to see his family, including his young son.
Meeks explained: “They're like, ‘Well, I'm still taking your visit. You can deny it, but I'm still gonna take your visit for the week.
“So now my family can't come because I got f**king random people coming to see me and it was so frustrating."
Meeks also said he confronted two people who kept coming back, adding: “[I told them] ‘Hey, please don't come back. I need to see my kids.
“My son's 5 years old and he doesn't understand why I'm not home, and he needs to see me. I’m just gonna ask that you please don't come back.
“It was rough. And the only thing that made it rough is ‘cause my kids.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Meeks also revealed that he was also being sent 'naked pictures' and 'money orders', which he said eventually became 'too much'.
This attention also extended to his appearances in court, as he continued: "Because it's a state case and in state, there now can be press in the courtroom. 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. I had been to court 100 times and it was never like this."
Why did Jeremy Meeks go to jail?
In 2014, Meeks, along with four others, was arrested by Stockton police as part of their Operation Ceasefire plan. He was arrested on five weapons charges and one gang charge, with police locating him with a semiautomatic handgun along with two magazines for it (via The Los Angeles Times).
The next year, he was convicted of felony firearm possession and served 27 months in prison before being released in March 2016.
The BBC reported that Meeks' mugshot garnered 95,000 likes and 25,000 comments, with a department spokesperson telling the Associated Press that they'd never 'seen that many likes for a photo before'.
What happened to Jeremy Meeks?
Before entering prison, Meeks was signed up to White Cross Management, and once he was released, he began a modelling career and made his runway debut at New York Fashion Week in 2017 as a model for Philipp Plein.
He's also starred in several acting projects, started his own clothing brand, and even wrote a memoir in 2024, Model Citizen: The Autobiography of Jeremy Meeks.
Meeks had been married to Melissa, with whom he shares one son, until their divorce in 2018. Shortly after, he entered a relationship with Topshop heiress Chloe Green.
The year prior, the two had been spotted getting cozy together while out on a yacht, and by 2018, they were expecting their first child together.
In June, Green announced the birth of their son on Instagram, writing: "We are pleased to announce the birth of our beautiful baby boy Jayden Meeks-Green. Born May 29th 2018. Mommy and Baby both doing well. We kindly ask to respect our privacy please. Much love Chloe & Jeremy."
However, the pair ended things in 2019, and as of 2024, Meeks is single as he told People: "I'm trying to focus on myself."
He had previously spoken about his relationships with Melissa and Chloe to Extra in 2020, telling them they were all 'co-parenting' and calling them 'incredible mothers'.
Gerrard Kaonga