Warning: This article contains discussion of drug addiction which some readers may find distressing.
You might not know Jeremy Meeks by name, but chances are you know him by face, because he's the man who went viral for being the 'world's hottest felon'.
Obviously being a felon isn't something to shout about, but that didn't stop Meeks from gaining global attention after he was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm in June 2014.
As he was taken into custody, Stockton Police Department posted a photo of Meeks' mugshot online, and the internet quickly did its thing as users commented on his good looks.
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Over a decade later Meeks has now turned his life around, but he's opened up in a new interview about feeling 'survivor's guilt' after struggling with drug addiction.
Meeks grew up surrounded by drugs and violence, and previously claimed on the What's Your Water podcast in 2021 that both of his parents were heroin addicts.
In 2002, he was charged with grand theft and spent two years in prison, then he was convicted of identity theft in 2005, and forgery in 2007, among other crimes.
Following his 2014 arrest, Meeks was convicted of felony firearm possession and was sentenced to 27 months in prison. In a new interview with Matthew Cox on the Inside True Crime podcast, Meeks reflected on the moment he shot to fame and described how he started getting '300 letters a day' while behind bars, some of which included naked pictures and money.
"There was many monikers," Meeks said, recalling how he'd been called the 'hot felon, the sexy convict [and] the blue-eyed bandit'.
After being released from prison, Meeks found himself with opportunities to travel the world and walk in fashion shows, but what people didn't realize was that he was struggling with drug addiction at the same time, while also preparing for the arrival of his second child.
"The mother of my second child was struggling with me struggling," he said. "She took a video of me sleeping, my breathing was very delayed and my lips were turning blue and I was pretty much overdosing in my sleep. "
Meeks continued: "She was four months pregnant. So she's like, 'Dude, if something happens, like there's nothing I can do', and so luckily she made a phone call and got some help and got a doctor in there and it was very expensive, but they got me the treatment that I needed."
However, while Meeks made it through the night, he said doing so gave him 'survivor's guilt'.
He explained: "A lot of my homies and people that I knew, some of their addiction grew just because of the resources that I had, to then buy. And it's just like 'if I'm doing it,
you're doing it'. And now everyone's getting higher and everyone's getting higher and more drugs are being done. And then next thing you know, I'm clean. 30 grand was dropped on my sobriety."
"I just felt bad because a lot of the people that I knew were still struggling and still, you know, in the thick of it..."
While Meeks acknowledged that he 'couldn't take care of everyone', he came to realize that 'God's plan is God's plan'.
"I know that God's going to have me exactly where I need to be in front of exactly who I need to talk to," he said. "I just jump in a river now and I flow with it instead of trying
to swim upstream, which, that's what I tried to do for so many years."
Meeks is still involved in fashion, and launched his second collection for Canon Mitchell in January 2024, as well as having appeared in a number of movies.
If you want friendly, confidential advice about drugs, you can call American Addiction Centers on (313) 209-9137 24/7, or contact them through their website.
Topics: Crime, Mental Health, Health, Viral
Emily Brown