As they Airwrap their hair and apply eyebrow pencil, their videos look no different to any of the other 14 million ‘get ready with me’ (GRWM) clips on TikTok, where young women document their beauty routine and outfit choice before leaving the house. 

The difference is, however, that after applying a full face of make-up that’s more suited to a night on the town, these glammed-up girls embark on a tedious journey of hundreds of miles by train and bus that ends in the sterile surroundings of a prison visiting hall.

Women across the UK are using the app to document their lives as ‘prison wives’, with many filming themselves piling on layers of make-up and dressing to the nines in preparation to visit their men in jail. 

Others share stories of phone calls, court hearings and how they preserve intimacy with a partner behind bars, while supporting each other to power through the ‘hard times’ and counting down the days until they can be reunited with their locked-up lovers.  

Making the best of a bad situation is one thing, but tips on the best kind of leggings to wear on visits and tricks such as buying your boyfriend new underwear and spritzing it with your perfume strike a jarring note. 

TikTok is awash with videos that attempt to glamourise everything from your morning coffee routine to scrubbing the bathroom, and it seems that no facet of life is immune from this editorialising – even visiting someone behind bars. 

What’s more, some are even making money out of it, with one ‘prison wife influencer’ Carmeljade labelling several of her GRWM videos as ‘commission paid’ and tagging products such as Loreal and Caudalie serums. 

A new trend has emerged that has seen the wives and girlfriends of prison inmates separated from their loved ones, taking to TikTok to share their unique experiences of love from behind bars

One, with the username @chelsealhx (pictured) shared the contents of a parcel packed for her boyfriend

Inside one visitors’ parcel, one prison girlfriend included brand new trainers, Nike tracksuits, a Supreme t-shirt and even a pair of boxers embossed with her face and a waist band reading ‘Belongs to Chelsea’ – all of which were doused in her perfume

Carmeljade regularly posts ‘get ready with me’ videos where she  glams herself up ready to visit her partner in prison, sharing details of the couple’s challenging romance sustained while he is behind bars.

Carmel’s partner is currently serving a 12 and a half year sentence after he ‘robbed a few cash machines’ eight years ago. 

In a video explaining to her followers why he was incarcerated, she said: ‘He didn’t hurt anyone, there was no one around. He was originally sentenced to 16 years but it was reduced to 12 and a half for his guilty plea.’

‘Anything that involves money, you are going to get a high sentence,’ she said.

Frustrated by the length of time he’s been locked away, she acknowledged that her partner had done wrong, but huffed: ‘But ruin someone’s life? It just really depends how the judge feels on the day.’

The mother-of-three lives just over an hour away from the prison and is allowed to visit her partner frequently – in one clip she described having seen her partner twice that week.

Influencers share their tips on what you can and can’t wear on a jail visit 

Carmeljade tagged L’Oreal and Caudalie serums in one of her videos, and indicated she’d earned commission from the post 

Unlike other inmates, Carmel’s partner is awarded the privilege of ‘enhanced visits’, meaning the two can share a more intimate meeting where they can sit together and are allowed to kiss and cuddle as much as they like.

But intimacy isn’t on the cards for everyone. Another TikToker with the username @shannonrosewheelerx, took to the app to share her experience visiting her boyfriend in prison. 

During a closed visit – where the two are not permitted to pass objects or exchange any kind of physical intimacy – Shannon attempted to ‘flash’ her partner but was quickly booted out after guards spotted them on the cameras.

A strict dress code is in place, preventing visitors from revealing themselves or prompting any kind of intimacy – a rule that several struggle with when deciding on an outfit for the occasion. 

Most partners describe having to ‘cover up’ for their visits, dresses and skirts must sit below the knee and figure-hugging looks are banned at some prisons. 

But intimacy isn’t on the cards for everyone. Another TikToker with the username @shannonrosewheelerx, (pictured) took to the app to share her experience visiting her boyfriend in prison

Partners of prisoners also use the app to connect with and support one another through their unique shared romances

Another TikToker, who goes by the username @saffronmariexx, revealed what it’s not easy to pick out an appropriate look that will still impress your man. 

At the beginning of the clip she said: ‘Come and pick a jail outfit.

‘There are so many rules and there are so many things that you can and can’t wait, it’s just a nightmare.’

Trying on clothes in one video, several outfits were dismissed for having ‘too much boob’ or ‘too much bum’. 

After trying on a number of figure-hugging options, she eventually settled on a comparably modest look of beige trousers and a white t-shirt with a high neckline.

After a lot of practice, Saffron said she successfully managed to finesse the perfect prison look.

She said she usually opts for a pair of tight-fitting flared leggings and a tight top.

‘Them visits are the hardest things to dress for but I do believe I had it down to a tee, it can’t be too short or revealing,’ she explained.

‘But if you wear things that accentuate your body shape, you’re technically not breaking any of these rules.’

But it’s not all makeup applying and outfit choosing – several partners of prisons use the app to share some of the harsher realities of having their loved ones locked up

And clothes are just as important to the inmates themselves. 

Saffron revealed there is a ‘hand in’ day for prisoners – where inmates are allowed to receive clothing items from their loved ones.

At the beginning of one video, Saffron casually announced: ‘Come to see my partner in jail with me’.

In the video she was seen packing him a bundle of tracksuits and two pairs of brand new trousers – all of which she covered in scent.

‘If you don’t spray your man’s stuff down with his favourite aftershave, what are you doing?’ she said. 

She explained that she is allowed to give him a bundle of new clothes – so long as some are returned home. 

‘His prison is so annoying because you’re not allowed black clothes and he is literally obsessed with all things black, so he has to go for new colourful things.’

Heartfelt videos reveal the struggles of having a boyfriend behind bars. One posted a video reading: ‘To all my HMP girls, just remember to keep going on them hard days’

In another video explaining to her commenters why she was able to sustain a relationship with a criminal, she urged her viewers to not be ‘so small minded’.

‘Please stop being so small minded to think that only people in jail are the wrong people, there are wrong people everywhere.

‘More times, the people in prisons are very good people who have just done bad things,’ she said, highlighting that plenty of people who commit crimes aren’t in prison for them.

Despite her efforts, Saffron recently revealed that her and her partner are no longer officially together, though she is still going to visit him in prison.

Explaining the unusual setup, she said: ‘I know this is confusing to people.’

‘Me and my ex were together for a very long time,’ she said, telling her viewers that the pair eventually decided to part ways because their lives ‘weren’t the same anymore’.

 ‘Just because one person makes on mistake in life, you can lose everything you ever worked damn hard for, and that’s what happened in our case,’ she said cryptically.

The two are now ‘friends’ but ‘absolutely love each other’ and they are currently trying to work out their relationship.

‘We’re trying to work out our relationship. If he’s in prison, if he’s on the moon, if he’s gone to Mars, that’s my man, mind your business.’

But things don’t always go to plan. En route to her ex’s prison – which she described as not her ‘most favourite’ jail – she had the frustrating realisation that she had left the house without her make-up bag.

‘I almost turned around when I was on the train because in all honesty, who wants to go to a visit with no makeup.

‘The best I could do was brush my hair and spray some perfume,’ she said. 

Without her trusty make-up bag, Saffron was left feeling ‘really basic on the visit’ and like a ‘plain Jane’.

After trawling through London on trains and tubes, Saffron always opts to travel the last leg of her journey by taxi. 

‘I honestly don’t know how people get to visits without using a taxi from the station,’ she said in one video.

‘If you don’t drive, just get a cab, what are you getting the bus for? The bus seems super long and I’m always running late anyway.’

Another social media user @chelsealhx revealed partners are allowed to send ‘clothes parcels’ and showed what she was putting in hers.

Inside she packed brand new trainers, Nike tracksuits, a Supreme t-shirt and even a pair of boxers embossed with her face and a waist band reading ‘Belongs to Chelsea’ – all of which were doused in her perfume.

In other videos, Chelsea documented herself getting glammed up to see her imprisoned partner.

In a video captioned ‘come with me on a visit to see my boyfriend, HMP life lol,’ Chelsea is seen applying a full face of makeup before selecting a modest outfit.

Dousing herself in perfume, she then hops on the train to the prison. After walking out, she then revealed a huge love bite on her neck, presumably obtained during a visit where intimacy is permitted.

But it’s not all makeup applying and outfit choosing – several partners of prisons use the app to share some of the harsher realities of having their loved ones locked up. 

Saffron admitted ‘sometimes it’s not all rainbows and sunshine’ after revealing in one video that she had ended up leaving the visit early after she and her boyfriend got into an argument.

After walking out the prison, Chelsea revealed a huge love bite on her neck, presumably obtained during a visit where intimacy is permitted

‘I’ll tell you ahead, we had a terrible visit, I left early, we argued, we shouted at each other,’ she confessed in one clip.

Partners of prisoners also use the app to connect with and support one another through their unique shared romances.

Heartfelt videos reveal the struggles of having a boyfriend behind bars. One posted a video reading: ‘To all my HMP girls, just remember to keep going on them hard days.’ 

Another woman whose partner is behind bars shared the sentiment. She captioned a video with her partner before his sentence: ‘Even from behind bars, his strength flows into to me, turning my doubts into courage and my fears into fire. His love, unbreakable. He makes me stronger than ever. No walls will contain the power he gives me.’ 

One commenter replied writing: ‘All remember they can lock the locks but they can’t stop the clocks keep going girls.’

A second wrote: ‘Needed to see this today, after having his baby Friday and I’m so broken that he hasn’t seen his son yet.’