Photo: @kristendavis614/TikTok
They've done time too & know how hard the transition is, but not everyone is buying their generosity
By John Sundholm — Written on Feb 26, 2023
That statistics and data make it clear—returning to life after being incarcerated is among the most difficult tasks a person can face.
As detailed in the video below, former inmates face challenges securing housing and jobs, as well as extensive mental and emotional challenges that can make their post-prison transition incredibly hard.
One woman and her husband are doing all they can to make sure a recently released former prisoner in their lives has as easy a time reentering regular life as possible.
But not everyone is supportive of their efforts.
TikToker Kristen Davis's husband is doing all he can to support her ex-husband after his prison release.
Davis posted a video to TikTok detailing how she and her current husband flew from their home in Colorado to Ohio to pick up her ex-husband following the completion of his seven-year sentence.
The emotional video shows one of Davis's sons greeting his father the moment he walked through the doors of the prison.
In the caption, Davis called her ex her "best friend," and said her "kids' hearts are so full" after finally being reunited with their father, and that her "current husband made it all possible."
Davis' husband also bought her ex everything he'd need post-prison, from toiletries to bedding to clothing—and it's generated 'hate' from TikTok commenters.
Many of Davis's fellow TikTokers seemed to think that Davis and her ex were planning to get back together and her current husband is being played.
"Give it a few years," one woman wrote, suggesting this will all go sideways.
One man commented, "yeah I'm sorry but I'm not flying my woman out to see her ex get released from prison that's just weird to me. But to each is their own."
Others criticized Davis for being close to her ex. One person wrote, "crazy your current husband is not your best friend," while another sniped, "that's just weird."
But Davis and her current husband, both former addicts, have served time too, and know how difficult the post-prison transition can be.
In a follow-up video showing all of the supplies her husband had bought her ex, Davis opened up a bit about she and her spouse's own experiences.
"My husband and I have both served time. We know without a support system you don't make it," she wrote her caption.
She went on to say that she, her current spouse and her former husband, all former addicts, all grew up together, and the two men are "some of the only friends I have left alive because of addiction."
She added that she will "never turn my back on my ex-husband!!!"
Davis went on to say that she is doing it all for her kids, so that they can reestablish a relationship with their dad post-prison.
To those criticizing her and her husband, Davis explained her and her husband's efforts in the plainest way possible—"That's my kids' dad.
She wrote that her kids "have been away from [their father] most of their lives."
She sees her kids' success as being directly tied to their father's post-prison life.
"We want to make sure he succeeds because [then] my kids succeed," she wrote. "I know it's a hard concept to conceive, but it works for us. we are ALL best friends!"
Following her own prison sentence, Davis has become a successful business owner, and she wants her ex to have the same opportunities.
Davis has defied the overwhelming odds against both former inmates and former addicts in her post-prison life.
As she has detailed in other TikToks, Davis and her ex-husband both went to prison in 2005.
Davis served five years in prison for felony convictions, prior to which she says she was "homeless," a "junkie," and "lost."
She has since not only tackled her addiction, but has become the owner of a successful cannabis business in Colorado, which has afforded her a life with "two houses [and] three cars" and a whole lot of happiness.
"We do recover," she captioned one of her videos detailing her former life.
In a TikTok update, Davis shared that her ex-husband is doing 'great' now that their 'family is whole again.'
In the video's caption, she shared that her current husband "has raised his step kids for over 6 years. never complained once."
And she went on to say that while she and her ex "don't work" and were "very abusive and on drugs together," their friendship and that between her ex and her current husband is deep and real.
"They are more friends then we are," she writes of her current and ex-husbands. "He knows the kids need their dad home, healthy."
"We need more people like this in the world," one commenter wrote. "That is what family is all about," another said, "love and acceptance."
This makes me want to cry," another person commented. "Good on you guys for putting family and kids first. We need more of this."
Here's hoping Davis and her husband's care and compassion helps her ex-husband find a similar happy ending.
If you or someone you know is transitioning to life after prison, contact your state government to inquire about prisoner reentry programs.
If you or someone you know is suffering from addiction, there are resources to get help.
For more information, referrals to local treatment facilities and support groups, and relevant links, visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s [SAMHSA] website.
If you’d like to join a recovery support group, you can locate the nearest Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous meetings near you.
Or you can call SAMHSA’s National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357), which is a free 24/7 confidential information service in both English and Spanish.
For TTY, or if you’re unable to speak safely, call 1-800-487-4889.
John Sundholm is a news and entertainment writer who covers pop culture, social justice and human interest topics.