Ed Gein's real-life 'girlfriend' refused killer's marriage proposal for bizarre reason

Netflix's new hit show 'Monster: The Ed Gein Story' unmasks one of America's most depraved murderers.

Ed Gein, also known as The Butcher of Plainfield, inspired numerous fictional monsters - but it's the first time he's ever been portrayed in this true crime medium.

Charlie Hunnam plays Gein in the series, which also recreates significant moments of the killer's life. One of these was his 'romance' with neighbor Adeline Watkins(Suzanna Son).

In the series, the couple even get engaged. It was a rocky relationship and Adaline moved to New York before returning to Wisconsin but she ultimately didn't remain with Gein.

Controversially, she is aware of his crimes in the show and even inspired him to become a grave digger after giving him photos of bodies from Nazi death camps, a photo of an ashtray made of a human skull and a comic showing lamps and other objects made out of human skin.

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The series potrays her publicly talking about Gein's murderous tendencies after he is caught. Viewers see sick Gein propose with a ring he takes from a dead body he exhumes from a grave.

The portrayal has left many viewers questioning whether Adeline and Gein were a couple in real life. The real Adeline now claims that the alleged two-decade relationship never happened.

She said they didn't know each other until 1954 when Ed had already been involved in his disturbing behaviour.

Showrunner Ian Brennan defended her inclusion in the series, saying: "What we do know is that she came out at first talking about how they were an item, and they were going to get married," he added. "And then she came out like, 'No, I made that all up.'"

According to a November 1957 interview with the Minneapolis Tribune, Watkins said she and Gein had been together for two decades. "I loved him and I still do," she told the paper.

Even her mother spoke to press and described Gein as a "sweet, polite man" who always ensured her daughter was home by 10 p.m. after their dates, according to People magazine.

Watkins said their outings often involved movies and visits to local taverns, though Gein "wasn't much of a drinker."

"I would almost have to drag Eddie into a tavern," she told the Minneapolis Tribune, adding that Gein preferred going for a milkshake.

She said at the time they talked about crime, though not any committed by Gein. "I guess we discussed every murder we ever heard about," she said. "Eddie told [me] how the murderer did wrong, what mistakes he had made. I thought it was interesting."

She also claimed that Gein proposed to her on February 6, 1955. "I turned him down, but not because there was anything wrong with him," she told the Minneapolis Tribune.

"It was something wrong with me. I guess I was afraid I wouldn't be able to live up to what he expected of me."

She added: "Eddie was so nice about doing things I wanted to do that sometimes I felt I was taking advantage of him."

In a subsequent interview, she admitted only to having gone to the theatre with Gein a couple of times. She retracted her earlier statements, claiming that the pair had only been friends and disputing comments made by her mother.

Gein himself never publicly shared any details about being involved with Adeline Watkins which means the truth may never be known.