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Convicted family killer Chris Watts has dumped the woman he was planning to marry behind bars – telling her that God instructed him to end their relationship, the Daily Mail can exclusively reveal.
asserted
Mail → publish → relationship
Watts, 41, called it quits with Lizzie Henderson just weeks after the Daily Mail revealed the unlikely couple were hoping to wed at the Wisconsin prison where he is serving multiple life sentences for murdering his pregnant wife Shanann and their two young daughters.
asserted
he → call → wife
Two sources have confirmed the relationship is over, and said Watts' family – particularly his mother, Cindy – had encouraged him to reconsider the romance.
'She never warmed up to Lizzie,' says a family source close to Watts.
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source → confirm → Watts
'But no one was on board with him having a relationship with her.
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him → have → her
And Chris listens to his family.
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Chris → listen → family
'Chris would never marry someone who his mother didn't approve of.
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mother → marry → who
She and Shanann never got along, with Watts later telling investigators that his mother 'never thought she was good enough' for him.
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she → get → him
His parents did not attend his 2012 wedding to Shanann, and the feud between Cindy and her daughter-in-law continued until the months before the murders.
asserted
feud → attend → murders
Our sources told the Daily Mail that Watts ultimately told Henderson that he no longer had 'peace' about their relationship and believed that God was telling him they should not be together.
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they → tell → him
The Daily Mail exclusively revealed last month that Lizzie Henderson, 39, was in a romantic relationship with Watts
But Watts has dumped her after being pressured by his family
Watts smothered his daughters Bella, four, and Celeste, three before dumping their bodies in oil tanks
The abrupt breakup is a dramatic reversal for a couple who appeared to be moving rapidly toward marriage.
asserted
who → reveal → marriage
Henderson, 39, relocated from Ohio to Wisconsin to be closer to Watts at Dodge Correctional Institution in Waupun and became a frequent visitor at the maximum-security prison.
asserted
Henderson → relocate → prison
She had even filed a confidential petition to legally change her name and had begun using the name Lizzie Watts.
asserted
She → file → name
Watts' newfound conviction that God wanted him out of the relationship is particularly striking, because faith had always been central to the couple's description of their romance.
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faith → want → romance
When Daily Mail tracked Henderson down last month, she confirmed their relationship but refused to reveal exactly how she had fallen for one of America's most notorious killers.
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she → track → killers
'How things began is between me, him and God,' she said.
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she → begin → me
She also described Watts as a born-again Christian.
Now, according to sources, Watts is once again invoking God – this time to explain why the relationship has to end.
uncertain
relationship → describe → God
Just last month, the Daily Mail exclusively revealed that Henderson had developed a relationship with Watts while he serves five life sentences without the possibility of parole for the 2018 murders of Shanann and their daughters Bella, four, and Celeste, three.
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he → reveal → Shanann
Henderson had relocated with her mother from Ohio to Wisconsin to be closer to Watts' cell
She could not be reached for comment about the breakup
The relationship was called off after pressure from Watts' mother, Cindy, who is seen alongside his father Ronnie in 2018
Henderson, a realtor originally from the Cleveland area, moved to Wisconsin with her mother after becoming involved with the convicted killer.
Prison records showed that she visited Watts 20 times in 2025.
uncertain
she → relocate → 2025
She also spent Christmas Day with him in 2024.
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She → spend → 2024
But the Daily Mail has also confirmed that Henderson was not the only woman who Watts was romancing during that time period.
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Watts → confirm → period
Other women have previously come forward with handwritten love letters that are also dated in 2025, bearing Watts' distinctive writing style containing multiple references to God's will.
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that → come → will
But Watts' relationship with Henderson seemed to have progressed far beyond that of a typical prison pen pal.
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relationship → seem → pal
One visitor even says she witnessed the couple kissing during a prison visit in August 2025.
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couple → say → August
Lisa Johnson told the Daily Mail last month that she was stunned when she realized the man sitting nearby with Henderson was Watts.
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man → tell → Henderson
Johnson said Watts was holding a Bible during the visit and that Henderson appeared smitten with him.
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Henderson → say → him
Watts has had a string of admirers and pen pal girlfriends since he was convicted in late 2018
Watts told police in 2018 that he murdered his family so he could start a new life with Nichol Kessinger, with whom he was having an affair
uncertain
he → have → affair
At the end of the visit, the pair embraced and kissed before exchanging 'I love yous.'
asserted
I → embrace → yous
And Henderson's commitment seemed to extend well beyond regular prison visits.
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commitment → seem → visits
In September 2025, she filed an application in Racine County to legally change her name.
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she → file → name
The details of the case were sealed, but family members said Henderson had already begun referring to herself as Lizzie Watts.
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Henderson → seal → Watts
Relatives also told Daily Mail that Watts and Henderson had applied for permission to marry within the Wisconsin prison system.
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Watts → tell → system
When confronted by the Daily Mail about the relationship, Henderson acknowledged that outsiders would likely struggle to understand it.
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outsiders → confront → it
Asked about Watts' horrific crimes, she said: 'He knows how I feel.
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I → ask → crimes
I don't know all the people involved but I would want to respect them.'
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I → know → them
She described the murders as 'something harsh for anyone to experience.'
But Watts' mother apparently had reservations of her own about the woman hoping to become her daughter-in-law.
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mother → describe → law
Religion has played an increasingly prominent role in Watts' life since he was sent to prison.
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he → play → prison
The convicted murderer has described himself as a born-again Christian and has spent years studying the Bible behind bars.
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murderer → convict → bars
Watts became one of America's most notorious killers after Shanann, 34, and their daughters Bella, four, and Celeste, three, disappeared from their Frederick, Colorado home in August 2018.
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Shanann → become → August
Watts murdered his wife Shanann and children then pretended to be a concerned husband to police and local media
Lisa Johnson claims she saw Watts and Henderson engage in a steamy embrace during a 2025 visit
uncertain
Watts → murder → visit
Shanann was 15 weeks pregnant with the couple's son, whom they planned to name Nico.
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they → plan → whom
…and 15 more, not listed.
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