Penthouse Pet drug trafficker finds love with a former female prison guard years after they met in jail - as she reveals how the pair first got acquainted behind bars

Simone Starr was a bikini model and Penthouse Pet

An ex-prostitute and international drug trafficker has turned her life around and found love with a former female prison guard.

Simone Starr was a bikini model and Penthouse Pet before she became a figure in Sydney's underworld in the late '90s and early 2000s.

After fleeing to the United States after a parcel bomb blew up in the face of her then-boyfriend Brett Boyd in the city's North Shore, Starr was arrested for smuggling methamphetamine in 2009 and sentenced to six-and-a-half years' jail.

It was during her time as an inmate at Dillwaynia women's prison in 2017 when she broke down after a particularly intense rehabilitation program that she met Britt Young - the future love of her life.

'It was very confronting. I didn't listen to no one then, I was a ratbag back in the day and she took the time out to give me time,' Starr told the Daily Telegraph.

For three weeks, the former military worker checked on the inmate almost every day in what they described as a 'mentor' situation.

Starr she met Britt Young while she was in Dillwaynia women's prison in 2017

'It was very confronting. I didn't listen to no one then, I was a ratbag back in the day and she took the time out to give me time,' Starr (pictured, left, with her new love Ms Young)

While stressing there was no romantic attraction to begin with, Starr, who was 28 at the time, said Ms Young helped her understand that she needed to have more self-respect.

The pair didn't see each other after Starr was transferred to the Metropolitan Remand and Reception Centre at Silverwater in western Sydney, but Ms Young had helped motivate her to finish Year 11 and 12, and enroll for university. 

After working in a factory, she said: 'I had never done hard work like that and realised, "hey, I don't need to sell myself for money".'

Starr claimed in court that her mother, who worked as a prostitute from the home they shared, introduced her to sex work when she was a teenager. 

The pair didn't see each other after Starr was transferred to the Metropolitan Remand and Reception Centre at Silverwater in western Sydney (Starr pictured)

Starr claimed in court that her mother, who worked as a prostitute from the home they shared, introduced her to sex work when she was a teenager (pictured: Starr when she was younger)

After gaining parole in 2019, she moved to the eastern suburbs and looked Ms Young up on Facebook with the intention of thanking her for the impact she had on her life, after two years apart.

The prison guard responded and said it was inappropriate for a serving guard to speak with an ex prisoner, so Starr asked her to reach out if her circumstances ever changed.

Soon after, Ms Young handed in her uniform and resigned.

'Something was like: "You need to give this thing a go ... The only way you can do that is to resign before you do",'' Ms Young said.

Starr's life changed forever after an explosive device detonated in the face of her boyfriend Brett Boyd (pictured, right) 

Simone Starr , formerly known as Simone Cheung, was released from jail in 2019

Starr waited at a nearby cafe, and the pair haven't spent a day apart since. 

Ms Young, who grew up in north-west Sydney, said her parents taught her not to judge a book by its cover.  

'The day I spoke to her properly I knew she was looking at me and thinking "this screw is genuine and sincere",' she said.

The happy couple now live together in Sydney.

Starr spent her teenage years drinking and using drugs heavily before following in her mother's footsteps.

'I was a high-class escort,' she explained, adding that 'everything was so exciting'.

Simone Starr (pictured, left) is a former swimsuit model and dated Brett Boyd before he lost his eye after an IUD exploded in his face

Starr later met Mr Boyd - a bodybuilder and model - and gave up sex work. 

On June 14, 1998, an explosive device in a shoe box was sent to Starr's Belrose home.

Mr Boyd picked up the package, which detonated in his face and left him without a thumb and an eye, wrecking his modelling career.

Former television presenter Roberto De Heredia was later found not guilty of sending the homemade device.

Ms Young (pictured, right, with Starr) originally it was inappropriate for a serving guard to speak with an ex prisoner