Rob is a convicted drug dealer who has spent the last two years exchanging letters and phone calls with a woman he met online.

“She is a lady. She is a real woman. She has never been in the criminal lifestyle. She is the total opposite of me.”

“Canadian Inmates Connect” is a dating website for inmates in federal institutions around the country. Eligible inmates who are looking for love can post a profile on the site and interested responders can reply with a letter.

The founder of the website, Melissa Fazzina, says, “A lot of guys who are in jail don’t have family and friends who are supporting them on the outside. So, this is a way for them to connect with the outside and have that support.”

That support is what Rob found in his relationship. Speaking over the phone to CTV News from the Saskatchewan Penitentiary, Rob said the connection has changed his outlook on life.

“We’re criminals. We sold drugs or whatever our crime was and now someone actually is taking an interest in me. It really made me feel positive and want to stay out of jail and not come back”, said Rob

Charlene Cameron is a Registered Social Worker and Relationship Coach in Prince Albert. She say everyone deserves to be loved and if a relationship provides someone with their wants and needs it is worth pursuing. However she also cautions against being with somebody who you don’t get to have daily physical interaction with.

“No physical daily contact creates an opportunity where you get to know somebody in more of a fantasy kind of situation as opposed to reality. You are getting what the person chooses to share with you at the moment and it is shared from a very artificial environment.”

Cameron also added, “One of the things that can happen with people who form relationships with inmates is they find the day to day living isn’t necessarily what they anticipated or hoped for while they were developing the relationship when the person was incarcerated.”

In less than a month, Rob’s sentence at the penitentiary is up and the first thing he will do as a free man is meet his long-distance love in person for the first time.

“Just to be able to get to hug her and say ‘Thank you.’ She really helped me through a lot of tough times. It is so great o have someone who actually cares,” said Rob.

You know what they say…the worst prison is a closed heart.