Prison boss meets the love of her life inside lockup - then has 'jail baby'
A 'bubbly' prison manager has revealed how she met her husband at work - getting engaged just months after first meeting. The woman says she bought her wedding dress before he even popped the question
Prison might not be the most obvious place to meet the love of your life - but that's exactly what happened to Charlotte Morgan and her husband Dan. The couple fell head over heels after starting work at the same jail - and married within a matter of months.
Charlotte, 32, a custodial manager, and Dan, 46, a prison officer, both joined HMP Highpoint in Suffolk, a category C training and resettlement men's prison, in 2018. At the time, they were both single and focused on their new jobs. But when their paths crossed in February 2019, they instantly 'clicked' - so much so that Charlotte told a friend that night: "I think I've just met the man I'm going to marry."
They embarked on a whirlwind romance after they started dating in August 2019, and Charlotte even went shopping and bought a wedding dress that November, despite the fact that Dan hadn't even proposed yet. That December, he did pop the question - and the couple have since tied the knot and welcomed their first child.
Speaking about the day she met Dan, Charlotte said: "There is that cliche of, when you meet your person, you know. I said to a friend that night, and it was a complete joke, but I said, 'I think I've just met the man I'm going to marry', and she said, 'Oh, stop it, don't get involved, blah, blah, blah'.
"We'd been friends for a few months and he was looking for somewhere to live… and he ended up moving into the block of flats that I was in. We obviously then went, 'Well, it's easier to cook for two than it is for one', and seven years later and here we are."
Prior to joining HMP Highpoint, Dan had worked as a plumber for 20 years with his family firm. When the decision was made to close the business, Dan started looking for other jobs and came across an advert to join HM Prison Service in 2017. He said: "I've always been a people person … and I just decided, if I can go and work with people and make a genuine difference, I'm up for that."
Charlotte, meanwhile, had been working in retail for the previous eight years and was studying criminology at university. She knew she wanted to work within the justice system to "help people" and, while navigating her final year of studies, she came across a similar job advert and decided to apply. "Ironically, I was due to start at the same time as (Dan) and be on his course, but I had two assignments at uni, so I had to defer for a few months," she said.
Dan joined as a prison officer in early 2018, followed by Charlotte later that year, and she started shadowing him in February 2019. She explained that she was single and "just trying to navigate life and the world", while Dan had just ended a long-term relationship and was experiencing "massive change" in both his personal life and career.
But everything changed when they met. "She was tasked to come down to the healthcare department in the prison and she had to shadow me," Dan explained. "We were both very lively, bubbly people, so we were just chatting non-stop, and it's very cliche but we just clicked as people."
Charlotte quickly knew she had met 'the One'. She said: "I went out shopping one day and thought, 'I'm just going to go and have a look at wedding dresses', and I went home with a wedding dress.
"It was mid-to-late November, but I went out shopping (because) I needed to get a hoodie or something… and I saw a friend who I knew back from school.
"She worked in the dress shop and said, 'Come in and have a look. Have you been together for years?' And I was like, 'Oh, funny story'. Then she said, 'Let me see the ring', and I was like, 'Oh, funny story'."
Unbeknown to Charlotte, Dan had already visited a jeweller to get a ring made and he proposed on Christmas Day that year. Just days earlier, Charlotte had discovered she was pregnant. The wedding was planned for June 2020, but thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic, it was delayed to January 2021.
In between, the couple welcomed their son Lewis, now five, and, in keeping with the prison theme, they bought him a black and white striped baby grow to make him a "prison baby".
Charlotte said: "It just clicked and we've both never looked back. We are the typical cliche couple – you meet your person and you keep them forever.”
Both Dan and Charlotte still work within the prison system - and at times, they are like 'passing ships'. But they have created a schedule which means they both spend quality time with their son Lewis and have weekends altogether.
Dan's role sees him working with prisoners, checking they have their basic needs and requirements, assisting with any queries and talking to them about courses and jobs, but alongside this he works as one of the healthcare officers.
His shifts vary – he works Monday to Friday and alternate weekends – but he can start and finish anywhere between 7.45am and 9pm.
Charlotte has since been promoted to supervising officer and, most recently, a custodial manager, which means she now works night shifts from around 8.30pm to 7.30am in the morning.
Explaining her role, she said: "I've moved away from the prisoner-facing side of it, to a degree, and now I just maintain the safety and the security of the night patrol."
Charlotte believes having a mutual understanding of the job helped the couple form a connection, but they have a firm rule that "work is work and home is home".
But sometimes those lines are blurred. One standout moment came after Charlotte had been promoted to supervising officer, making her Dan's boss. Charlotte said: "Something was happening … and I had to delegate the roles out, including to Dan, and it was just the moment where he said, 'Yes, boss', and everybody in the office started laughing.
"We were all trying to be straight-faced about it, but they just couldn't believe the fact that I had just totally outranked him."
The couple said they both see themselves working at HMP Highpoint for the foreseeable future, with Dan adding: "I'm going to be here for life, I can't see myself doing anything else."
They said "absolutely anybody" from any background can join the prison service and, who knows, they might fall in love along the way.
"I never expected to meet my life partner inside a jail, but it goes back to the close bonds you build with the people you work with," Dan said. "You rely on them, they rely on you, you build that team, and then, as we found out, you end up falling in love with one of them as well."
Charlotte added: "I didn't join the prison service to fall in love with Dan, but for anybody wanting to join, you will meet friends for life. I want someone to read our story and go, 'Wow, they started as singles and now they're here'."