I'm still a Christian, but I want to be myself
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Your support makes all the difference.Peter Ingram, 57, and his wife, Maureen, 48, have two children in their twenties. Peter works as a caretaker near their home in East Sussex. Maureen was brought up a Jehovah's Witness, and Peter became a Witness shortly after their marriage. Both broke from the religion eight years ago and are now Christians.
When I told Maureen's father 30 years ago that I wanted to marry her, he gave me an ultimatum: study with us or you will never see my daughter again.
I had nothing against the Witnesses or what they believed, but I refused to give in to such pressure. Maureen was aged under 18, so I decided to take our case to court. We were married after we won the case.
After a while, we drifted back into the Witness community but we were not happy. In the course of our work - going from door to door - we met a man who had Christian beliefs. He convinced us that Christians had something we didn't - the faith was not based on unrealistic demands. We realised we had to get out of the system. Our lives changed for the better, and we felt free to be ourselves.
I started to take nude photographs of Maureen at home. She is very photogenic, an attractive woman - and we also had a lot of fun. It gave us a laugh when we got them back from the processors, but I wanted the world to see her. I was so proud of what she had put up with over the years. After all that repression she needed to feel free and attractive again. I suggested we send one of the photographs to Fiesta. I knew that if she was picked it would give her such a boost - and I was right.
If people want to think it is perverted, it is up to them, but there was nothing smutty or crude about it. Our son and daughter know about it and they think it's funny. They even know someone who has Maureen's picture pinned up in his office.
We regard ourselves as Christians and believe that our wish to be ourselves is not at odds with that.
I feel as if I am married to a different woman now. Since we left the Witnesses, Maureen has found talents she never knew she had - she set up a successful business, for example. Even the clothes she wears have changed, and her personality is now outgoing and bouncy. The Fiesta pictures consolidated that confidence. We have nothing but pride in them.
'Short Stories Special: Readers' Wives' is on Channel 4 on Saturday at 10pm.
(Photographs omitted)
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