LOVE DURING LOCKUP Talsey gets 20 years for burning fiancée’s house down

Love During Lockup Season 1 inmate Talsey McCullough will have a few years to try to get back on the show after he was given a lengthy prison sentence for burning down his fiancée’s house early last year.

According to Georgia Department of Corrections records, Talsey was sentenced to 20 years in prison after being found guilty of aggravated assault and first degree arson in August of last year.

That’s the really bad news. The not-so-bad news is that it appears Talsey will not be serving the full 20 years. At all. The Georgia DOC website lists Talsey’s “max possible release date” (the latest date he will be released) as February 7, 2027 — which would be just six years after his initial arrest.

UPDATE – Talsey was also found guilty of unlawful acts of violence in a penal institution conviction stemming from an incident in June of 2022. He received an additional ten years of probation for that conviction.

Talsey McCullough arrests

Our readers will recall the dramatic details surrounding Talsey’s arrests in February of last year. The now-41-year-old was booked on February 4 for felony aggravated assault. He was released and booked again on February 8 for felony arson.

The story took a twist when it was discovered that Talsey’s fiancée, Kayla Miller, was also arrested on February 8. She was charged with a count of hindering apprehension or punishment of a criminal, which was likely due to withholding information about Talsey from police.

It was later revealed that Kayla’s house had burned down, and she confirmed that it was Talsey who did it. Along with a gallery of photos of the damaged house, Kayla also shared a message and answered numerous questions from commenters. Here is an excerpt from her statement:

I still wake up in a panic. I still have trouble breathing. I’m still dealing with a nervous breakdown. I am scared for my mental health and more so scared about my future. I’ll never understand why Talsey did this to me and our beautiful home we completely remodeled. We had the absolute best of everything. Everything in our home was brand new. I gave him the best life anyone could ask for. Sadly his mental illness won. Not only did I lose my home, but I lost my soulmate. My best friend. My partner. The grieving and pain i am going through is more then I feel like I can bare. I’ve always been so tough. So independent. A boss women who got what she wanted. Now I feel scared, empty and alone. It’s even hard for me to pray right now for some reason.I just hope my love ones are praying for me.

Santiba, who was the woman in a long-distance relationship with Talsey on the show, also reacted to his arrest on social media. “Even after what he had put me thru seeing that mugshot broke my heart,” Santiba wrote.

A commenter on Santiba’s post talked about having a similar relationship in which she remained friends with the guy. “Him and I didn’t remain friends,” Santiba replied, “but it still makes me kinda sad knowing that he never got his life together for his family ya know.”

Unlike her house, Talsey did not burn the bridge with Kayla. A few months after Talsey’d arrest, Kayla posted a series of jail call videos featuring Talsey. He revealed that Kayla was still supporting him — including sending him lots of money. From Talsey:

She spent thousands on me since I been in here…and that’s after I burnt the house down and took everything we had. You know what I mean? That’s love right there! And we still talk every day! And we’re still gonna talk every day, you know what I mean? And I’m blessed. I got a whole bunch of stuff — brand new shoes, Polo stuff, cologne, glasses, all this stuff. She’s helped me replace it all because she loves me, and she’s my friend. And I love her too.

Amazingly, Kayla appears to still be hung up on Talsey. She posts about him (I assume it’s him) constantly on TikTok. In a clip posted yesterday she lip synced these lyrics to “Blind Spot” by Maddie Zahm:

I know it sounds reckless that I put myself in danger
Rather let you hurt me than love another stranger
You could burn my house down, don’t know what for
And all I’d be is grateful you’re back at my door
Tired of asking if you’re gonna love me or not
Are you mine or a blind spot?

Kayla also wrote: “Girl, what did you say to him after he burned your house down?” on top of the video. In the caption she wrote, in part: “I fear my unconditional love will be the death of me.”

Unfortunately, Kayla’s love for Talsey may have almost literally been the death of her! Who knows… Perhaps we will see the duo on an upcoming season of Love During Lockup? Stay tuned!

Meanwhile, be sure to catch up on the current status of all of Talsey’s Love During Lockup Season 1 co-stars with our handy dandy chart:

#LoveDuringLockup #SPOILERS Find out which inmates have been released, and which ones are still in prison! PLUS a few other little spoilers sprinkled in here and there 😛 https://t.co/KX5u948gUI pic.twitter.com/66Bw3JyApi

— Starcasm (@starcasm) January 29, 2022

Asa Hawks is a writer and editor for Starcasm. You can contact Asa via Twitter, Facebook, or email at starcasmtips(at)yahoo.com