WE tv recently released the first preview trailer for the new season of Love During Lockup, which premieres in July. One of the couples featured in the preview was immediately recognized by some fans of the show, thanks in large part to the fact that they both have TikTok channels with more than 300,000 combined followers!
Helping Jade Chipps and husband Chris Chipps build their online fanbases were a couple viral news stories.
Jade got quite a bit of media coverage after she had a cardboard cutout made of Chris and posted a TikTok video interacting with it in early 2021 — including pretending to feed him, Chris lounging in the pool, and more.
I don’t believe Jade’s original TikTok video is still posted, but here’s her re-post months later with most of the same images and clips:
@jadalous2.0 #prisonwife #LeadWithLove #DontQuitYourDaydream #UltaSkinTok #comedy #foryou #writeaprisoner #husband #cardboardcutout ♬ Cry Baby (feat. DaBaby) – Megan Thee Stallion
“I decided to buy the cutout after thinking ‘what would make him feel special around the holidays?’ I wanted him to feel included,” Jade told The Mirror in a 2021 article.
Jade “previously printed out her husband’s face on a bathing suit, a pillow and a onesie in order to feel closer to him,” The Mirror added.
Chris Chipps charity work
The other thing that Chris got a lot of media attention for is amazingly positive. Not long after he was sentenced to 30 years in prison for burglary, identity theft and grand theft, Chris saw a local newspaper article about five-year-old Emma Bohon, who had serious medical issues that were causing her family substantial financial hardship.
“My daughter is about the same age, and it touched something in me,” Chris told the Argus Leader in an article from August of 2016. “It hit a soft spot in my heart. I have three children of my own, and I know what it’s like to feel helpless, but not to that degree. I knew there was something I could do.”
The something that Chris could do was donate money. “Chipps is one-quarter Native American and an enrolled member of the Prairie Island Mdewakanton Dakota Tribe in Minnesota, which operates Treasure Island Resort and Casino near Hastings,” revealed the Argus Leader. “He receives profit-sharing funds through that affiliation.”
Chris had his mother take out $5,000 from his account and give it to Emma’s mother. “I’d made so many poor choices,” Chris explained. “I wanted to do something that I knew was right.”
Chris was also quoted in a 2018 Dakota News Now article about inmates at the South Dakota State Penitentiary making items “designed specifically to help students with sensory issues stay calm and focused in the classroom.”
“It’s for kids with special needs that would appreciate something like that, it gives them a sense of security,” Chris said at the time.
@chrisalous2.0 #greenscreenvideo #greenscreen ♬ balls – ISABELLE🫶🫶😍😍
Jade and Chris Chipps intro video
For those Love During Lockup viewers who are needing their #FelonFriday fix while waiting for the new season to premiere, we’ve got just the thing to tide you over!
Jade Chipps and Chris Chipps were the subject of a video on the Truly YouTube channel. Posted in September of 2021, the six-and-a-half-minute clip is a FANTASTICALLY produced intro to Jade and Chris’s story. It really feels like you’re watching the first six minutes of the new season of Love During Lockup!
Here’s the video:
When will Chris Chipps be released from prison?
According to the South Dakota Department of Corrections website, 39-year-old Chris Chipps’s “Initial Parole Date” is June 30, 2025. The Initial Parole Date is defined as the “Earliest release date to parole supervision for new system offenders.”
HOWEVER, 33-year-old Jade has stated MANY times online that Chris is scheduled to be released in 2024.
Chris Chipps criminal history
We have focused a lot on the positive things about Chris Chipps and his relationship with Jade, but it’s very important to remember that he is currently serving 30 years in prison. That doesn’t happen without doing something really bad.
So, what was Chris Chipps convicted of? What was his prior criminal history?
The 2016 Argus Leader article about Chris’s $5,000 charitable donation is VERY thorough, and includes information about what resulted in Chris’s lengthy prison sentence.
Chris was an only child with an absentee father. “Diagnosed with anxiety and borderline personality disorder, Chipps got involved with drugs and was quick to lash out, moving in and out of juvenile detention.”
More from The Argus Leader:
Chipps compiled a lengthy rap sheet of crimes involving burglary, drug possession and impaired driving. He admits to methamphetamine use, which led to stealing to feed that addiction.
In 2014, a jury convicted him of one count of second-degree burglary and four counts of identity theft for breaking into a home in Whitewood and later using stolen credit cards. Facing a second trial for additional crimes, Chipps pleaded guilty to one count of grand theft.
Court records reveal that Chris stole items, drugs and credit cards from a married couple living in Whitewood, South Dakota. The wife had been diagnosed with Leukemia, and Chris took some of her experimental cancer medications as part of his haul — all while the couple was at home watching TV in their bedroom.
One week before burglarizing that couple, Chris reportedly stole a vehicle from a man that he had just interviewed with for a potential job.
The severity of those crimes, combined with Chris’s prior convictions, resulted in the hefty prison sentence.
To see more of Jade and Chris’s love story, be sure to tune in to WE tv for the Love During Lockup Season premiere some time in July!
Asa Hawks is a writer and editor for Starcasm. You can contact Asa via Twitter, Facebook, or email at starcasmtips(at)yahoo.com
