Today we’d like to introduce you to Jeni Wilkins.
Hi Jeni, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
It’s a long and complicated story. But I’ll make it brief. I was always the kid made fun of in my teen years. Always told I wasn’t any good at anything, that I wasn’t talented or pretty. The stuff that tends to haunt you into adulthood. I finally did bloom in my 20s, but my self-esteem was horrible. I decided to put myself into college, so I went into Anthropology, my focus was on Archaeology. During that time, at the age of 29, I needed a job that would pay me well and work around my college schedule. My Uncle was friends with Hustler owners Jimmy and Larry Flynt and the offered me a job to manage their Hustler store in Cincinnati. I never cared either way for the adult Industry products, it was all just merchandise to me. I believed people had a right to choose to buy it or choose not to buy it, that simple. But in 1999 the store was raided, and I was arrested with the Flynts. It was all over local and national news. Here it goes again, Larry Flynt battling the city of Cincinnati, just like in the Movie “The People VS Larry Flynt. It took 2 years, but it was eventually dismissed. The 1st amendment had won again if you chose to look at it that way. For me, it was Larry getting publicity for a profit. I lost friends because of my association with Hustler. I left their employ in October 2001 and moved to Vegas to work for another adult product Manufacturer. I had graduated but didn’t find work in archaeology and dismissed or not, I was still the girl arrested with the Flynts. So, I gravitated back towards adult. It was okay to be different in that world, and I made great money. I didn’t know it then, but one meeting was about to change my life. The AVN Awards 2002. I was walking with a colleague when I saw the sexiest man I had ever seen. I even tripped over my feet. My colleague knew him and stopped to chat; he introduced the man as Mickey G. To me. And you could feel the sparks between us. I asked my companion about him after we continued on our path, and that’s when he told me he was a well-known pornstar. Well, I may work around the industry, but I didn’t participate in its lifestyle. I would handle business then go home right after work. So, no matter how nice, or sexy he was, there was no way I was going there. I didn’t need another male that was going to be with a lot of women. In my early 20s, I had married what people thought was the “nice guy”. Except that “nice guy” beat me to a pulp, cheated on me, and verbally abused me. One day during, during a beating, something changed in me. I can’t explain it, but I changed, in that brief moment I was no longer vulnerable. The fearful, the timid me, she died that day. I stood up straight grabbed a kitchen knife, and said “one of us isn’t leaving here alive, and it’s not gonna be me.” See, when you stand up and take power away from an abuser, they don’t know what to do. You’ve taken away that which they crave. He didn’t know how to react, he called me crazy. But I didn’t care, I was not going to let him control me or my destiny. He left, and the next time I saw him was divorce court. After that, a strong woman emerged, though less trusting in the world of dating. I enjoyed my own company. I loved to read, workout, etc. I like being alone. I had a few relationships in those years after, one that was almost serious, but he was a cheater too. So, I worked and spent my free time with a few gal pals and with my head always in a book, or watching historical documentaries. Around 2004 I had enough of the adult world. See, it’s not the people in the films getting rich, it’s the companies. These actors, they weren’t human to the movie company owners, they were product. And when that product got too old, or unpopular, they were discarded without care. The pornographers, they didn’t care if one of their contract stars was suffering from addiction or mental illness. If that person were popular enough, they’d feed the illness, need drugs to perform? They’ll supply them. Need a mental health boost by being told what a star you are? Toss glamorous clothes, jewelry, limousines, and an Oscar-style award ceremony their way. But when your star stops shining, they go silent, you stop existing because they found 100 others to fill your spot. I couldn’t be a part of that. So, I moved home to Cincinnati and found a job as a banker, I had an old friend hook me up, and they didn’t care about the world I just left, nor the arrest that was finally removed from my record, I will thank the Flynts for doing that. I started building a career in finance, bought a 2-family house, and moved my mom and step-dad in so I could care for them. Then the crash of 2008 came, and there went my career. So, I found work as a corrections officer until banking made a comeback. And that’s where Mickey G. Comes back into the picture. I was having lunch after a court run in downtown Cincinnati, while having my lunch an ex-Hustler employee noticed me. She sat down and we got to talking, she asked if I remembered Mickey, and I did, I never forgot him. He was going through a bad time in his life. He escaped the adult world, but couldn’t find his way in the normal world. He was battling addiction issues and undiagnosed PTSD and bipolar disorder. What people don’t realize is that before he went into adult he served our country in the Airforce, and then served as a paramedic for LA City. He saw too much death too young, and adult provided the escape from that. Anyway, my ex-colleague reacquainted us in early 2011. It was long distance, two people who hadn’t seen each other in almost a decade. It started with phone calls, texts, letters, etc. But at some point, we knew. And in March of 2012, he moved to Cincinnati and we eloped. Yep, no dating, no meeting beforehand in his city or mine. The 1st years were difficult, he hid his addiction for a while, and I was naive about addiction. It’s not a demon I ever had to battle. Then it wasn’t hidden anymore, and I was making excuses for him and doing everything I could to help him. It took 6 years. I didn’t want to give up on him, but I had just gotten a really important federal job, I’m still there. One day he shows up to pick me up, and he’s so hopped up on options that he goes into a seizure right in front of the federal building. That’s when I had to make the tough decisions. I wasn’t going to let this beautiful being kill himself. Because he is beautiful, gentle, compassionate, loyal, intelligent, and when sober, he is my best friend. The most amazing man ever. The man who nursed me through spine surgery recovery for 9 months, the man who, as we speak has cared for me these past 8 weeks after a devastating accident that required my right leg to be rebuilt. The man who would watch me doodle, then go buy art supplies and encourage me to create (and now just almost two years later I’m in a gallery, and have art exhibits), the man who so loved my goofy cell phone photography hobby that he bought a professional camera and taught me to use it. This is who he would become, and it’s because I made the tough choice. I took him to the VA and they committed him to their Psychiatric ward. He was finally getting professionally diagnosed and put into treatment, his addiction issues, they were a way to self-medicate and numb the demons. It was a journey and is every day, but now he is that man I fell in love with, he’s my best friend, he supports and encourages me. I have reached goals and heights I never thought possible. We are closer than ever, he says I saved him, well he saved me too. We, after almost 10 years of marriage, are completely crazy about each other. We spend all of our time together. Through him, I learned that being in love is possible. What I didn’t go into, is that I was sexually assaulted in 2008. I had let my guard down, after that no man was ever going to touch me or be near me. I was on guard always. But Mike (his real name), he healed me. He helped me trust intimacy. Here was someone, yes, a former pornstar, who taught me more about love and trust, than all the so-called “nice” guys out there. Here was a former pornstar who became a monogamous and loving husband. Here is a man who lived through so much, survived the damage, and became the person to bring out the best in me. And there it is. I’m not sure what Jamar thought would be inspiring. Most people don’t look kindly on people from adult. But I am 53 now, and Mike is 61. We’ve been away from it, for me 18 years. For him 16. In fact, we joke about it.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I actually work for the criminal investigation department of the IRS. Painting is my outlet. It’s an escape from reality. I use many mediums, digital, paint, photography. I’m obsessed with the art of the print. Lithographs, Serigraphs. Woodblock, etc. The layers of ink, so rich and solid. I start withdrawing freehand digitally, then I develop the work into a screen print or heavy ink on Textured paper for a fine art print. I’m proud to be in the Arthouse Kentucky Gallery in Lexington. And so proud that my art is selling. Some of it has traveled to other countries. My best work, the one I love so much? It’s called Code of Silence. I love Kadinsky, Picasso, Warhol, just so many influences. Most of my work has an atomic age, maybe a touch of Mid Century modern to it. I do have a series I did in tribute to Charley Harper, that was fun. I also have a “faces” series. My take on old Hollywood stars like Joan Crawford, Greta Garbo, and so on. You can see all of my work on Instagram the_lady_jeni
We’re always looking for the lessons that can be learned in any situation, including tragic ones like the Covid-19 crisis. Are there any lessons you’ve learned that you can share?
Yes! For one, it’s when my art began, no covid would have meant no being at home doodling, or photography outings with my hubby. It brought us closer, and we learned how to be kinder. Not just to each other, or ourselves. But to everyone. No matter how polarized this situation became politically, everyone deserves love and respect. I also started mentoring young people, like Jamar, in photography.
Pricing:
- Large Prints Framed 350.00 16 x 20 image
- Small prints framed 225.00 image is 11 x 14
- NFTs on Opensea are open to offers
Contact Info:
- Email: Jenileewilkins@gmail.com
- Website: https://smple.io/members/jennifer-wilkins
- Instagram: The_lady_jeni
- Other: Https://opensea.io/Ladyjeni
