Elizabeth Rowe, wife of former prison guard Alfred Rowe, is speaking out about his past sexual affair behind bars with convicted child murderer Susan Smith.
The Rowes both comment on the criminal case and the inappropriate relationship that cost him his job and devastated his family on the Lifetime true crime docu-series Cellmate Secrets. E! News has an exclusive sneak peek of the show's July 9 episode, which focuses on Susan, who in 1995, was sentenced to life in prison for murdering sons Michael, 3, and 14-month-old Alex by strapping them into their car seats and then letting her vehicle roll into a lake.
While in jail, Susan was disciplined for having sex with two prison guards, including Alfred, a prison captain. In 2001, he pleaded guilty to having sex with her. He received five years probation and was fired from his job after working for the South Carolina Department of Corrections for about 13 years.
"Which one do I want to choke first?" Alfred's wife tells an interviewer for the series. "My heart was being ripped out."
On the episode, Alfred and Elizabeth discuss how their lives were "turned upside down" by his affair with Susan, who is described as "manipulative."
Alfred says on Cellmate Secrets that he knew Elizabeth "was being destroyed," adding, "I regretted to have to tell my children, I made a mistake and I allowed it to happen. I had the power to say no and I didn't."
Susan will be eligible for parole in 2024. In 2020, Alfred said on The Dr. Oz Show that he thinks she does not deserve to be paroled, adding, "I think she is still of that mindset that she could manipulate anybody she comes in contact with."