Lauren Jenai, the multi-millionaire co-founder of CrossFit, is set to marry a childhood crush, Franklin Tyrone Tucker, who is currently jailed on murder charges for allegedly stabbing someone to death at a treehouse shanty in 2017 (Facebook/Monroe County)
The multi-millionaire co-founder of CrossFit is set to wed her childhood crush -- who is currently jailed for allegedly stabbing someone to death at a treehouse shanty in 2017.
Lauren Jenai, who founded the popular exercise regimen CrossFit with her then-husband Greg Glassman, reconnected with childhood pal Franklin Tyrone Tucker on Facebook after her messy split from the fitness guru. The friendship soon turned romantic, and the two decided to wed at the Monroe County jail where Tucker is currently awaiting trial for murder. Jenai said that, when the two reconnected, they hadn't seen each other in 30 years, since they were children growing up in Philadelphia.
The two, who are both 47, have yet to see each other in person since the relationship began, however, because the jail reportedly does not allow in-person visitation. The couple is also barred from video chatting "for the next 100 years" because they violated jail rules, Page Six reported.
“I got a little risqué...,” Jenai, a mother of four, told the publication, before specifying the act that got her banned.
Jenai, who reportedly sold up to $20 million in CrossFit shares as a result of her 2013 divorce, doesn't plan to implement a prenup in her marriage to Tucker.
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“Our relationship is very open and we are a team," she said. "I trust him. I love him. My house is his house. A prenup feels a little inappropriate."
Tucker was arrested in 2017 for his alleged involvement in a bizarre case known locally as the "Tree House Murder." Tucker and another man are accused of robbing a woman who lived in a tree house on Stock Island in the Florida Keys. The other man, Rory Hank Wilson, allegedly slit the woman's throat while looking for crack cocaine and cash in her possession.
Authorities say that, as the duo were leaving the tree house, they were confronted by the woman's neighbor, 59-year-old Matthew Bonnett. An argument ensued and Tucker allegedly stabbed Bonnett several times, causing injuries from which he died later that day, according to the Miami Herald.
But Jenai, who lives in Portland, Oregon, has been advocating for Tucker's freedom since the two reconnected on Facebook. She argues there's no physical evidence tying him to the case, and was prepared to put up $1 million for his bail before bail was denied in a January hearing.
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The two planned to get married if he was granted bail, but, since it was denied, they're set to tie the knot at the jail this summer.
She also hopes to advocate for Tucker medically, because he suffers from two hernias.
“Whether he’s guilty or not, I feel like we have a Constitution and there’s rules on what should happen,” Jenai said.
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CrossFit has responded to the news with a statement to the Miami Herald, saying Jenai does not currently and has never been associated with the fitness regime.
“She is in no way associated with CrossFit at this time and was never a part of its founding,” Ben Allen, CrossFit’s military liaison, said earlier this year.
EDITOR’S NOTE:
The first version of this story stated that Franklin Tyrone Tucker allegedly stabbed Rory Hank Wilson, causing his death. This information is incorrect. Tucker and Wilson are co-defendants in the 2017 stabbing death of Matthew Bonnett. The story also stated that Tucker told detectives he “had to” kill a man. The report cited never included this information. The story has been corrected.
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