Gary from Chicago and his fiance, Vicky Vines, stole the show at the Oscars on Sunday when they were surprised by an actual walk-through while the show was in full swing. The couple were shocked to see their favorite celebrities and even got to take a picture with Denzel Washington.
Naturally, everyone wanted to know who they were, so after some research it was discovered that Gary had just been released from serving time in prison and had even been convicted of attempted rape almost 40 years ago. Gary spoke with Inside Edition to tell his side of the story, and it’s pretty dramatic.
‘That I’ve made mistakes,’ he added. ‘That I am really remorseful and ashamed of when I was a teenager but now I am 59 years old and a changed man.’
He said he respects women, adding again: ‘I’m not some monster.’
‘For all of those women affected by my past, Gary is a changed man. People saw the real me there,’ he said, referring to his expedition inside the Dolby Theater.
‘I’m a changed man,’ he said. ‘Anyone can do it and it’s hard work, it was not easy. It was very painful and now I am a changed man.’
He also said he adopted a personal slogan, after he was sentenced to 25 to life for stealing perfume under California’s three strikes law in 1997.
‘Anybody can change, why not me?’ is the phrase he now lives by.
Those are some powerful statements from a man whose life was mostly lived on the wrong side. Hopefully Gary continues to live by this mantra and can live the rest of his years without any brushes with the law and in a happy relationship with his soon to be wife.