Ex-MMA fighter War Machine is engaged to a woman who began writing to him shortly after he was jailed for life for brutally beating his porn star ex.
War Machine, whose real name is Jonathan Koppenhaver, popped the question to 30-year-old pen pal Ashley Farrington in February after reading her a poem he wrote.
In the poem, which is littered with religious imagery, he writes: ‘I want to be your hero, for you I’d gladly die.’
Referencing Adam and Eve, he adds: ‘Were you once in me? What did God do? Did he cut me open / and make out of me, a you?’
Jonathan Koppenhaver, aka War Machine, is engaged to 30-year-old Ashley Farrington (left) despite serving life in jail for brutally beating ex-girlfriend Christy Mack (right)
Koppenhaver met Farrington when she began writing to him shortly after he was jailed for life with a minimum of 36 years for his attack on Mack
According to TMZ, Koppenhaver met Farrington in summer 2017 after she began writing to him at his jail cell in Nevada.
It is not known exactly when the pair first exchanged letters, but Koppenhaver was locked up for a brutal attack on ex Christy Mack in June of that year.
Koppenhaver and Farrington exchanged a series of letters during which feelings developed, prompting him to pen the poem.
The fighter read her the poem in February before dropping to one knee and proposing, despite having no ring.
She accepted and the pair are now engaged, TMZ reports.
However, they have been unable to consummate the relationship because Nevada does not allow conjugal visits.
Koppenhaver, now 36, will be in prison until he is at least 71 before becoming eligible for parole.
Koppenhaver groped Mack as he beat her unconscious and threatened to kill her after he caught her in bed with another man back in 2014
Mack, an adult film actress, suffered a broken nose, broken eye socket, missing teeth, a lacerated liver and bruising to her legs during the attack
The former professional fighter met Mack in 2013 when she was a well-established adult entertainment star and he was ‘dabbling’ in the industry.
They began dating in January 2014 before appearing nude together for an issue of Hustler magazine.
But in August that year, Koppenhaver returned to their Las Vegas home to discover Mack in bed with another man named Corey Thomas.
A court heard that Koppenhaver beat Thomas for around 10 minutes, biting him and putting him in a choke hold.
Thomas told the trial: ‘Once it registered I was getting bitten, then I put my hands back up to try to break him off my face and then he hit me on the arm.
‘I’m looking up at the ceiling thinking to myself “I’m going to die in Christy’s bathroom. That’s not how I’m going out.”‘
Koppenhaver eventually let Thomas go before launching an assault on Mack.
Through tears, she testified that he punched, kicked and groped her during the assault as she passed in and out of consciousness.
At one point, she recalled him standing over and saying: ‘This is it. I’ve got to kill you now.’
Mack broke down in tears several times as she testified during Koppenhaver’s trial
After Koppenhaver was jailed, Mack said she fears that if he is ever freed from jail, he will track her down and kill her
Mack managed to escape when Koppenhaver left the room, which she believed was to fetch a kitchen knife to stab her to death with.
She ran naked and bleeding to a neighbour’s house and called police.
The assault left her with a broken nose, missing teeth, a fractured eye socket, a lacerated liver, and bruising to her legs.
He was arrested a week later in California, before being jailed in June 2017.
Mack later confessed that the relationship had been abusive from about four months in but she had turned a blind eye to it, believing Koppenhaver would not do it again.
After he was sentenced, she penned and Instagram status which read: ‘Today I finally get to put a close to a very dark chapter in my life.
‘Thank you all for your positivity and love throughout my journey. It has not been an easy few years, and I value all of your support.
‘I could not have seen this through to the end without knowing that all of this pain is not without purpose.
‘My DM’s and email have always been, and will continue to be available if you find yourself in need of help or support.
‘Reach out. Believe them when they do reach out. If you hear something, speak out. You are not alone.’