He Kept His True Identity from His Wife of Forty Years

Bobby & Cheryl LovePhoto byScreengrab from 3rd Hour from TODAY

When couples who have been married for decades are asked about the secret to their successful marriage, many reply that love, trust, and responsibility are their secret recipe. However, Cheryl Love, who has been married to her husband of 40 years, found out that not only was her husband a fugitive in hiding, but also Bobby was not his real name. As a result, her world turned upside down.

Like most tragedies, Cheryl’s day began normally, just like every other day, and then she heard a knock on the door, and unknown to them, FBI agents were on the other side of the door. Bobby opened the door only to be met by confident agents who asked for his name.

However, when Bobby replied that his name was Bobby Love, the unfazed agents were not bothered. They then demanded Bobby reveal his real name. Partly relieved and staring at the impossibility of getting out of the situation, Bobby Love revealed to the agents his real name to the shock and horror of the woman he has been married to for 40 years.

Although some secrets like Bobby Love’s can have such a detrimental impact that may lead the hurt individuals never to trust again, Psychologists say hiding information can psychologically be damaging to the secret holder, which explains why Bobby Love was relieved when the long arms of the law finally caught up with him.

As could be expected, Cheryl was shocked. Before her stood the man she had four grown-up children with, the very man she spent all her adult life with, and his name was not Bobby but Walter Miller. Recounting the day her whole world collapsed before her eyes, Cheryl said, “My world came crashing down. Bobby’s arrest was all over the papers, forty years of marriage, four grown children, and I never knew. I was so angry. But I never hated him. I wanted to comfort him. I wanted to hold his hand. I told Bobby later, ‘That’s how I knew I loved you. Because even in the worst of it, I was thinking about you.”

Walter Miller aka Bobby Love and his wife Cheryl

Bobby Love or Walter Miller’s trouble with the law began back in 1971 when he fell in with the wrong crowd. There was nothing unique about his background, as with many families back then, his single mother raised him and seven other children. Understandably, he grew up in poverty, and his new friends took advantage of that when they started robbing banks.

As a result, his days of robbing banks ended when he was shot, caught, and sentenced to 25 to 30 years. However, Bobby escaped when his good behavior while in prison earned him a transfer to minimum security, and he has ever since been on the run.

Despite the heartbreak and the secrecy meted out to her, Cheryl forgave her husband and worked hard to ensure she brought him home. She wrote to the president, the governor, and anyone she thought would help bring her husband back to her. Finally, Cheryl’s hard work paid off when Bobby was released only after spending a year behind bars.

The wrong choices Bobby or Walter made in the 70s, which included robbery, getting shot, arrested, and escaping from prison, led him to his wife Cheryl, who completely turned his life around. For the 40 years, Bobby was with Cheryl, he didn’t commit a single offense, and now that he is back with his wife, who, after all, didn’t know him, Bobby Love can now use his real name and count his blessings.