Jeremy Meeks revealed his plans to work with a ghost writer on a memoir about his life, after launching a modeling career following his release from jail in 2016, this fall.
After touching down at Los Angeles International Airport on Friday, the 39-year-old actor teased his plans to release an autobiography in October following about his rise to fame.
The actor, who said it would be ‘impossible to attempt to ‘chop’ his life story into an hour and a half film, became an overnight viral sensation after his sexy mugshot was uploaded to Stockton Police Department’s Facebook page.
Almost immediately, social media users began referring to him as the ‘Hot Mugshot Guy’ and ‘Prison Bae.’
Ultimately, the post, featuring his picture garnered more than 75,000 likes and 20,000 comments.
Putting pen to paper: Jeremy Meeks revealed his plans to work with a ghost writer on a memoir about his life, after launching a modeling career following his release from jail in 2016, this fall
‘My life story is coming out in a book,’ he gushed to TMZ on Friday. ‘It’s a bit surreal, I’m very excited.’
The heartthrob continued: ‘It’s been a ride.’
Meeks, who is currently single, also told the outlet that he is in ‘a bunch of movies coming out’ and was returning from shooting Christmas movie in Pennsylvania.
He also teased plans to turn his life story into a television show, but would not want to star in the series as himself.
In 2019, he spoke publicly about his troubled upbringing with a heroin-addicted mother and a father who brutally murdered a family friend.
Meeks also stated that he has been shot five times, which led to him serving time behind bars until he was released and forged a successful modelling career.
Jeremy has a son with Topshop heiress Chloe Green, with the couple reportedly splitting recently amid rumors she was unfaithful to him.
He revealed that he was born in Washington during a crack cocaine epidemic that affected much of the US from the early 80s to early 90s.
Seven years later: After touching down at Los Angeles International Airport on Friday, the 39-year-old actor teased his plans to release a autobiography in October following about his rise to fame
In an interview with Chelsea Grayson for her video series for What’s Your Water, he revealed: ‘Both of my parents were heroin addicts. I was a heroin baby,’ he said calmly, meaning he was born dependent on heroin because his mother used it while pregnant.
‘So, my childhood was very, very dark. My dad committed a murder when I was nine months old and killed my mum’s best friend,’ he told the host.
‘Because he was looking for us and she was the only one who knew where we were at.’
Raymond Meeks was jailed in 1984 for stabbing Laura Leon-Melara 36 times and strangling her in a sustained five-hour attack.
A pearl-handled hunting knife, thought to have been the murder weapon, was found in a bin behind apartments where he was staying. A neighbor also identified him as a man who had been knocking on doors looking for Laura in the house before her death.
Raymond was tried twice for the murder, with the first trial ending in a hung jury; and the second, ending with a guilty verdict for first-degree murder.
Viral: The actor, who said it would be ‘impossible to attempt to ‘chop’ his life story into an hour and a half film, became an overnight viral sensation after his sexy mugshot was uploaded to Stockton Police Department’s Facebook page; seen in 2022
Raymond was given a 45-year sentence by Pierce County Superior Court Judge J. Kelley Arnold, and was eventually released in September 2017 after serving 33 years.
A week after the murder, when he had been questioned and bailed pending charges, Raymond Meeks was accused of the rape and abduction of another woman.
In the interview, Meeks said he keeps his distance because he is ‘still a piece of s***.’
Raymond Meeks has previously said: ‘I talk to Jeremy all the time and I’ve spoken to Chloe. I am looking forward to seeing Jeremy again — it’s been a while.
‘He’s a good looking boy and I am proud of him. To me, he was famous when he was born. He’s beautiful and I love him.’
Before his father committed murder, Ray was working on and off as a mechanic, ostensibly to support his then-wife, Kathy, and son, Jeremy, who was born in February 1984.
Jeremy’s mother Kathy, a former heroin addict, has a long criminal record for a string of offences.
She has been in prison numerous times, leaving Jeremy to be raised by an older sister, Leanna, from the age of 12.
Heartthrob: Almost immediately, social media users began referring to him as the ‘Hot Mugshot Guy’ and ‘Prison Bae’
Jeremy’s older half-brother Emery served a community order for robbery and has a criminal record which includes buying booze for a minor.
Half-sister Carmella has a criminal record for minor thefts, cannabis possession and various driving offences.
In the interview, Meeks confessed that he felt like he always had a penchant ‘to make bad decisions.
He claimed bad decisions, along with a learning disability, made him susceptible to the gang life when he moved from Washington State to Los Angeles in the sixth grade.
‘Next you know I’m fighting and fighting and fighting and I had to learn really fast about colors, and gangs, and neighborhoods, and sets.
‘At a really young age, I got put on to the hood and from there, I moved out of the house at 15 and was in the streets,’ he said.
That very same year he would be sent to his first juvenile hall, get shot five times and beaten up by a gang members with baseball bats shortly after his release.
In all Meeks revealed he has spent about 10-and-a-half years behind bars in his young life, and that experience was made even worse because he is light-skinned mixed race, he said.
‘My life story is coming out in a book,’ he gushed to TMZ on Friday. ‘It’s a bit surreal, I’m very excited’
‘For most light-skinned people, you’re not black enough and you’re not white,’ he said, while also referencing that his good looks also made him a target in prison.
A grand theft and firearm possession conviction in 2014 would be a game-changer for his life; it was the mugshot from the arrest that would help launch him to international stardom.
His chiseled cheekbones and piecing blue eyes helped capture the hearts, compassion and, in some cases, generosity of people on the internet.
As a result, he began getting some 300 letters a day, some fans would send him money inside books, and there would be major interest from the modeling industry.
A judge would end up sentencing him to 27 months, instead of the recommended 63 months, so he could take advantage of his viral fame, which Meeks is still grateful for to this day.
‘The only thing that saved me, which was such a blessing, was my judge. He helped me in so many ways,’ he admitted.
The way we were: Meeks reportedly split from Topshop heiress Chloe Green in August; the couple have a one-year-old son
After some initial bumps in his pursuit of his new career, Meeks is now one of the most famous models in the world.
He claimed that his mother is now doing ‘really well and that she has been clean of hard drugs for years, although she does smoke a ton of weed.’
Meeks has two sons: one with ex-wife Melissa Meeks, who he was married to from 2008 to 2018, and a son with Topshop heiress Chloe Green.
It is thought the pair have split after Green was pictured kissing a man on a yacht in the Mediterranean.
Meeks hopes a daughter is in his future along with a career in music.
‘When I do music I want to make sure it’s a positive message, but still street, without the killing and the drugs and the bad message,’ he explained.
‘It’s kind of hard to find the balance.’
Jeremy and Chloe’s relationship first came to public attention after they were seen kissing aboard a boat in June 2017, while he was still legally married to his first wife Melissa Meeks, with whom he shares one child.
The pair managed to keep Chloe’s pregnancy secret until the final month. She gave birth to Jayden Meeks-Green on May 29, 2018.
The Topshop heiress sparked rumors that she had gotten engaged after sporting a massive diamond ring, but neither she nor Meeks confirmed the engagement.
They ultimately called it quits in August 2019, but remain amicable co-parents to their little boy.
***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk