Eight years after Chris Watts murdered his pregnant wife and two young daughters, the convicted killer is reportedly seeking to marry again.
Watts, who pleaded guilty to the killings in November 2018, has developed a relationship with 39-year-old realtor Lizzie Henderson, according to a report from The Daily Mail.
Relatives of Henderson told the outlet that the couple has already submitted an application to marry through the Wisconsin prison system. Watts is serving multiple life sentences there for the murders of his wife, Shanann, their daughters Bella, 4, and Celeste, 3, and the couple’s unborn son.
Oxygen contacted both the Wisconsin Department of Corrections and Henderson for comment, but did not receive an immediate response.
As they await a decision, Henderson has reportedly started going by “Lizzie Watts,” according to the outlet. The Daily Mail reported that she visited Watts 20 times last year and moved to Wisconsin to be closer to him. Sealed court records reviewed by The Daily Mail and People magazine also show that Henderson filed for an official name change in September 2025, though the specifics of that request were not publicly available.
Speaking with The Daily Mail, Henderson acknowledged that outsiders may consider the relationship “weird.”
She would not explain how the relationship began, telling the outlet only, “How things began is between me, him and God.”
Asked about Watts’ crimes and how she views his past, the 39-year-old offered little detail.
“How I feel about it? He knows. He knows how I feel,” she said. “I don’t know all the people involved but I would want to respect them.”
What Was Chris Watts Convicted Of?
Watts initially claimed his family vanished Aug. 13, 2018, after he left for work, making a series of emotional media appearances begging for their safe return, according to previous reporting from Oxygen.
Days later, Watts—who was having an affair with coworker Nichol Kessinger—was charged with murder after authorities said he strangled his pregnant wife, then drove his daughters to the oil site where he was working, along with their mother’s body. There, he smothered the girls to death.
Shanann’s body was later recovered from a shallow grave at the site.
“Shanann was curled up, as if just thrown in,” Colorado Bureau of Investigation Laboratory Manager at the Denver Forensic Science Laboratory David Maloney told Oxygen’s Criminal Confessions. “It was almost discarded like trash and then covered with dirt.”
The bodies of Bella and Celeste were found in separate oil tanks on the property.
“Looking at those oil tanks and seeing the size of the hatch at the top where their little bodies were shoved through and then to have to pull them out of that oil,” Weld County District Attorney Michael Rourke remarked in the episode, “I wouldn’t wish that upon my worst enemy.”
Watts confessed to the murders and pled guilty that same year.
Visitor Allegedly Spotted Chris Watts, Lizzie Henderson Kissing
In the years since his conviction, Watts has continued to attract female attention.
While visiting another inmate, guest Lisa Johnson told The Daily Mail she allegedly spotted Watts, who was clutching a bible, and Henderson kissing at the Dodge Correctional Institution.
She described Henderson as being “googly-eyed” and eager to take a picture with Watts. Although physical contact is prohibited, inmates are granted 10 seconds to embrace at the end of a visit, the outlet reported.
As Johnson alleged, “They hugged their whole ten seconds while they were kissing.”
In Wisconsin, prisoners can apply to marry, but must meet strict criteria and have approval from the warden, according to The New York Post.
