The recent Netflix series Monster: The Ed Gein Story has thrust a lesser-known figure from the infamous killer's life back into the spotlight: Adeline Watkins. Portrayed as Gein's longtime girlfriend, Watkins sparks curiosity about their alleged bond—and whether it ever led to marriage. But digging into the facts reveals a tale far more tangled than the screen version suggests.
Ed Gein, the Wisconsin handyman whose gruesome crimes in the 1950s inspired horrors like Psycho and The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, was arrested in 1957 for murder and grave-robbing. Amid the shock, a Plainfield local named Adeline Watkins emerged with startling claims. In interviews shortly after his capture, she described a 20-year affair with Gein, painting him as a quiet, discreet man who proposed marriage as recently as 1955. They reportedly bonded over books on tribal cultures and shared outings to movies. Her mother even corroborated tales of their closeness, fueling tabloid frenzy.
However, Watkins quickly backpedaled. Weeks later, she told reporters the story had been blown out of proportion. Indeed, she insisted she'd only known Gein well since 1954, with their interactions limited to intermittent chats and a handful of social calls over about seven months. No deep romance, no wedding plans—just a fleeting acquaintance with a man harboring dark secrets. Gein himself never mentioned her in his sparse confessions, and no records show any marriage. He died in 1984, unmarried and institutionalized.
The Netflix dramatization amps up the intrigue, showing Watkins (played by Suzanna Son) as a confidante to Gein's macabre world. Yet this artistic liberty underscores how true crime often blurs lines between fact and fiction. Moreover, it highlights Watkins' brief notoriety as a woman caught in the killer's orbit, retracting under media glare.
In the end, their "relationship" seems more myth than reality, a footnote in Gein's legacy of isolation. What does it say about how we romanticize monsters in our stories?