Facebook is a lot. There’s just so much to scroll through, from memes to Donald Trump‘s acquittal and whatnot. So it’s fair to say that sometimes, you just gotta aimlessly scroll with no destination in sight. I do it all the time. However, Humans of New York (HONY) posted the most riveting story on social media this morning, and it has taken over my day. I don’t think I’ve ever checked Facebook so much in my life before, but I had to because the story of Bobby Love née Walter Miller is simply stunning.
Bobby’s story is told in 11 parts by HONY helmer, Brandon Stanton. It begins rather normally, with a knock on the door one morning. Cheryl Love, Bobby’s wife, was making tea and Bobby was still in bed. When Cheryl peeled back the door, she saw the police standing there. But she wasn’t worried – “we had a crazy lady that lived next door, and the police were always checking up on her.”
“But the moment I opened the door, twelve officers came barging past me. Some of them had ‘FBI’ written on their jackets. They went straight back to the bedroom, and walked up to Bobby. I heard them ask: ‘What’s your name?’ And he said, ‘Bobby Love.’ Then they said, ‘No. What’s your real name?’ And I heard him say something real low. And they responded: ‘You’ve had a long run.’ That’s when I tried to get into the room. But the officer kept saying: ‘Get back, get back. You don’t know who this man is.’ Then they started putting him in handcuffs. It didn’t make any sense. I’d been married to Bobby for forty years. He didn’t even have a criminal record. At this point I’m crying, and I screamed: ‘Bobby, what’s going on?’ Did you kill somebody?’ And he tells me: ‘This goes way back, Cheryl. Back before I met you. Way back to North Carolina.’”
WHAT A BLOODY CLIFFHANGER.
The series details Bobby’s 1977 escape from a prison in Raleigh, North Carolina where he was serving up to 30 years for robbery and armed robbery with a firearm.
But things changed when someone screamed “punk ass” to the prison captain, and Bobby copped shit for it even though it wasn’t him.
Part Five is when I demand this man’s life be turned into a movie.
“Once we got on the highway, the girl next to me started making small talk. She asked me my name. I thought for a moment, and said: ‘Bobby Love.’ And that was the death of Walter Miller.”
Incredible.
But wait, it gets even more riveting.
Not going to lie, I was on the edge of my seat when I read this part.
Bobby never told Cheryl about his history.
“I did tell her that I grew up in the South — which was true,” he told HONY. “And that I’d come to New York City to try something new. That was true too. But I never told her about Walter Miller. I didn’t see the need. Walter died a long time ago, on that Greyhound bus out of Raleigh. I was a new man. I was Bobby Love now. And if that was enough for her, why complicate things?”
They were married in 1985.
Swipe for the Love family.
And now, Cheryl tells her story.
Cheryl really didn’t know, not even a little bit.
“Forty years of marriage, four grown children, and I never knew. How could I be so stupid? I wanted to hide. I wanted to disappear. When I went to work that first day, everyone was gathered around the front desk. And they got real quiet when I walked in. But I told them: ‘Don’t just stand there. I need some love. Give me some hugs.’ Of course I was embarrassed, but I was more hurt than anything. Bobby had deceived me for all those years. There was no truth in our house. I’m walking past this man every single day. We laughing. We joking. And he’s not telling me anything? I was so angry. But I never hated him.”
When Bobby was in prison, Cheryl “got to work.”
“I wrote letters to the governor. I wrote letters to Obama. I gathered testimonials from everyone that Bobby ever knew: all the kids he used to coach, all the people at our church, all of our family members. I testified on his behalf. I didn’t know a thing about Walter Miller. But I told them all about Bobby Love. And the parole board took mercy. After a year in prison, they let him come home.”
HONY has shared a lot of stories from all over the world, but Bobby and Cheryl’s is easily one of my favourites. I refreshed my feed every hour on the dot to read the latest update, and it was always worth it. What a story. What a family.
Now excuse me while I scroll up and read it all again.
