Jamaican dancehall star Vybz Kartel has gotten engaged to a Turkish woman, social worker Sidem Ozturk, according to Dancehall Mag.
Kartel, whose real name is Adidja Azim Palmer, is currently incarcerated in Kingston’s Horizon Adult Remand Centre. Ozturk revealed that she and Kartel got engaged during one of her visits to see him in prison.
They fell in love quick:
“So how it happened is, we were just calling each other hubby and wifey and he was like, ‘Well we’re heading towards marriage so calling you wifey or you calling me hubby is not serious enough,’” said Ozturk in an interview with journalist Lisa Evers. “So he was like, ‘You’re my fiancée, we’re gonna get married’.”
Ozturk said she first began corresponding with Kartel back in 2015, four years after he went into prison. However, the two did not meet in person until 2019. Ozturk eventually moved from London to Kingston to be closer to Kartel, and now she frequently visits him.
Kartel was convicted of murder and is currently serving a life sentence. However, his lawyer, Isat Buchanan, is appealing the case to the UK’s Privy Counsel.
Hope for the future:
The couple remains optimistic that they will be able to be together outside of prison walls as husband and wife. For now, they can only see each other when she visits, during which there is no physical contact between the two of them.
“It does cause some difficulties. Obviously, I can’t see him every time I want to see him or I can’t talk to him every time I want to talk to him,” said Ozturk. “But we know what we want and you know where our heart is at…it’s not that difficult so I’m willing to wait.”
“There’s a glass between us so we don’t get to touch each other, we just see each other. We got to like talk through some little holes that were in some little wooden bit under the glass, so it’s not perfect but you know we’re making the most of what we can.”
Head over heels:
Despite the difficulties, it appears that both Kartel and Ozturk are all in and completely in love with each other. In fact, Kartel’s recently released EP True Religion is a tribute to Ozturk and features her image as part of the artwork.
“He’s smart, I love his heart, he’s got an amazing heart and he’s so giving and so loving, and I just like to call him my angel. It’s just, he’s an angel in my life and I can’t deny the way he makes me feel and how happy he makes me feel.”
“So to actually be here, in Jamaica, engaged to Addi is a dream come true. I still haven’t processed it properly in my head, I’m still you know… it’s amazing. I don’t even know how to describe how I feel. That’s how good it feels.”
Post jail hopes:
“The man I love, he’s just like, he’s so witty it’s like even when you’re angry or you’re upset about something, he knows how to turn that around and he just can make you laugh and make you see the brighter side of things. Love just wins, his love is just so strong it takes over everything. To know Addi is to love Addi.”
Ozturk said she told Kartel she has no desire for a ring, though she hopes they can tattoo their names on their ring fingers soon.
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