Powerful Woman- Gaebri Kelley

I first heard about Gaebri Anderson-Kelley when her then 18-year-old boyfriend was wrongfully convicted and serving 25 years in prison without parole on a Showtime documentary series, Outcry. Gaebri captivated me by her fervorous dedication and loyalty to stand by his side. Although her notable recognition came from having her boyfriend’s name splattered across headlines, she is not only the ultimate “ride or die” but she continued to pursue her passions and goals simultaneously and that is truly something to admire!

SS: How did you not allow the stress of your situation distract you from accomplishing your goals?

GK: Ever since I was a little girl I had these huge goals and dreams and I guess the work ethic was implemented into me at a really young age. I saw my sisters go off and do all these awesome things that they set their mind to and achieved and I was like, I know I want to do this too. Definitely, when all this came about with Greg it made it a lot harder because I almost felt like I needed to be in Texas to support him, and that wasn’t necessarily the case. I had so much support not only from my friends and family but Greg as well. We both had these huge goals and dreams and he wasn't going to let his situation stop me from going off and I wasn't going to let that happen either. So I knew I needed to achieve what I had always dreamed to do. I just had to kind of step up and do both- I had to fight for him, but also be in a totally different state and I knew that it also would grow our relationship because I think that's what we found very attractive about each other; how goal-driven we were and if I lost that I would really be losing myself, so I didn't want to do that in the process.

Talk about achieving your goals, you became a cheerleader for the NFL Los Angeles Chargers in 2018!

I did it for one year, but Greg got out during that time. Right when he got out I finished up my year and he actually proposed to me [during the season] when I was a charger girl so I made the decision that was going to be my last year and I was actually going to move back to Texas. Right now I’m running a dance company, MÜV CRÜ at Müv Dance & Fitness Studio. It’s in Cedar Park, TX and it’s a 20,000 square foot facility that I run with my whole family. My dad’s involved, my mom, and my two sisters who are also dancers.

I can tell you had a massive amount of support from your family- but how did you not let the opinions of others get in your head and alter what you truly felt was the right thing to do?

I definitely had people say like “girl you need to move on and have to go on with your life. You can't wait 25 years. That's crazy".” Stepping back that does sound insane, but I don't think I could even live with myself because there was something in me that I knew I loved him and I knew I was going to fight for him whether that was two years, a few more months, or literally 25 years. I had it in my head that I would wait 25 years which sounds so crazy, but I had made that decision from the very very beginning. Of course, there are ups and downs and close friends that even doubted the whole entire thing and I just knew what Greg and I had was extremely special and I think God really guided the way of keeping our relationship strong even though we weren’t together.

Did you ever get to a point where you felt so defeated you almost gave up?

Greg was feeling like you can still fight for me, but you need to move on and you need to live your life. You need to meet other people, meet a good guy and you can still support me but that broke my heart, I mean he shouldn’t be breaking up with me I should be breaking up with him he’s the one in prison! So yeah that was hard that was really hard. I was like I cannot believe you're saying this right now because I've been fighting so long. I'm not gonna give up here like we've done this for years. I'm not going to stop right now. So that was really hard to hear coming from him. If anything, I didn't think that was possible for him to even say that to me, so I definitely felt defeated. There was about a week where we just kind of didn't talk on the phone and didn't write each other and it almost felt like we broke up for a moment.

It probably gave you an idea of what it would be like if he wasn't in your life?

Yes. I got that complete idea. It was terrible. It was awful. Terrible. I was crying in my room all the time. And you know, I thought I might heal from it but the hurt, pain, and suffering I felt like he was going through I was feeling it out here, too. That’s when I was like nope, we have to make this work. Whatever it is, we're going to keep fighting.

Do you have a quote or favorite book that helped you during difficult times?

I read it a long time ago and I read it with Greg; it's The 5 Love Languages: How to Express Heartfelt Commitment to Your Mate by Gary Chapman. The reason I loved it is because Greg and I couldn't do anything together, but one thing we could do is read the same book. I'm honestly not a reader, but I became a big reader when he was in prison because it's something we could both do and then talk about.

Fast forward, Greg was exonerated in November 2019, and then a few months later, the pandemic started. I kept thinking for an athlete their prime is between the ages of 18-24, which was already taken away from him but he still had the grit to keep going, and then COVID hit.

Oh, yeah, here he is at UT, enrolled, the coaches were looking at him, and then covid hits and they're like, “Hey, I'm so sorry. We're not taking any more people. We can't we’re actually cutting people right now,” but he was extremely blessed to get the opportunity for a full-ride scholarship to Eastern Michigan [where he is currently playing].

The couple finally had some wins come their way! They started dating in the 8th grade and Gaebri & Greg got married in January 2020.

What else is on Gaebri’s list to do in life?

I want to continue to grow Müv and we just opened up a business during covid called Tomahawk Targets, its a skill he developed in prison and we build axe-throwing boards and cornholes.

We want to continue to grow that and one of the biggest things that has been on our heart since all this has happened is prison ministry. We want to go back into prisons and visit the people that really changed his life, and even affected us out here. We want to go back in and kind of tell his story and tell my story and just encourage those people in there because there's a lot of falsely accused.

It must be frustrating constantly being attached to this- How did you not lose your identity, not only then but still to this day?

Yeah. I mean at first, I hated how everyone talked about this, especially when he wasn’t exonerated, but I do think everyone goes through certain things to make them into the woman that they are today and I've kind of brought this story into my identity. It hasn't created me but it's built me. It has helped build me and 100% help me find myself. So instead of you know trying to separate me from that I kind of bring it in and make it a positive. I think that's the only way really because forever I will be connected to the story for the rest of my life. Especially that it's a documentary out there, but I have really turned it into a positive thing and I think this is my story and I went through this for a reason.

Gaebri is not only an advocate for people that have loved ones who are incarcerated, but she is an individual who sticks to her morals and values above all else. Check out all the amazing things Gaebri is up to from her family-owned dance studio, Müv to Tomahawk Targets. You can follow this powerful woman on Instagram @gaebrikelley.