What ‘world's hottest felon’ looks like now after sharing one regret about his appearance

Despite an army of admirers dubbing him the 'world's hottest felon', Jeremy Meeks isn't entirely happy with the way he looks.

The 42-year-old is more of a heartbreaker than a lawbreaker these days, as those who were left swooning by his 2014 mugshot will remember well.

Police in California described him as 'one of the most violent criminals' in the city of Stockton when sharing the snap online - but that still didn't put people off.

Meeks, who later went on to launch a very successful modelling career, became an online celebrity overnight following his arrest for felony weapons charges more than a decade ago.

Cops unknowingly kickstarted his career in the industry by sharing his mugshot in a Facebook post, as modelling agencies were fighting to recruit the bloke who quickly earned the nickname of 'the world's hottest felon'.

Upon his release from a medium-security federal prison in California in March 2016, he found himself strutting down catwalks in New York and Milan, working with stars such as Gigi Hadid and gracing the front pages of magazines.

Meeks also found himself in front of the camera in a different capacity, as he also bagged roles in films such as True to the Game 2, Dutch and Secret Society after hitting the big time.

Things don't seem to be slowing down for him, as within the last few weeks, he's been promoting a romantic thriller TV movie, collaborating with a private air charter company, all while finding time to pose for a smouldering selfie midway through a round of golf.

Although he is extremely grateful for the events which transpired after his mugshot went viral, the blue-eyed former bandit recently opened up about the toll this sudden popularity took on him.

As the dad was still incarcerated when he became an online sensation for being easy on the eyes, he explained this led to some bizarre incidents transpiring during the final stages of his jail term.

'It was so frustrating'

Speaking on the Inside True Crime podcast, Meeks said: "I was probably getting 300 letters a day. And it was just too much. I'm getting naked pictures, I'm getting money orders, movie opportunities.

"I'm getting random people visiting me. And I'm denying them before I even walk up the stairs into the section and I'm like, 'I don't know who that person is!'

"I could see them through the glass," Meeks said. "I'm like, 'I don't know who that person is!'. They're like, 'Well, I'm still taking your visit. You can deny it, but I'm still going to take your visit for the week.' So now my family can't come because I got f**king random people coming to see me and it was so frustrating."

Interestingly, Meeks seemed to suggest he isn't too sure what all the fuss is about anyway - as there is one thing he would alter about his appearance if he had the chance to turn back the clock.

Despite his array of tattoos being one of his most attractive elements to a lot of folks, the Washington-born actor said he would 'definitely' choose to go without them if he had his time again.

'I tried to self-sabotage myself from being able to be an adult'

He explained why he isn't keen on the so-called 'bad boy' look while speaking to news outlet Jamaica Gleaner last year - and how he believes he 'subconsciously tried to self-sabotage himself' by adorning his skin in artwork.

"On one of my last stretches in prison, I was in the hole and I was able to look at myself in the mirror," Meeks said, noting that this was something of a luxury as 'most of the mirrors in the prison cells are scratched' and unusable.

"So I'm looking at myself - and I had already been in solitary confinement for probably five months now - and it hit me when I was looking in the mirror that I had covered myself in tattoos because I was afraid to fail in life."

Explaining what he meant by this, Meeks continued: "If I covered myself in tattoos, then that would just kill the shot of having to go fill out applications and trying to get a job [when he was released].

"If I'm just this full gang member that's covered in tattoos, then that kind of like depletes the work. It was a cold realisation.

"To realise that I almost tried to self-sabotage myself from being able to be an adult...I knew that it was really easy to be in the streets and make fast money.

"It's hard to abide by the laws and go to work and have a structured life when you come from the streets. To be disciplined, to get up and go to work. That's hard when you're used to doing whatever, whenever.

"Being in prison, I almost self-sabotaged myself so that when I got out I wasn't going to be able to just work. Subconsciously."

Although he said it wasn't his 'intention' to get inked up and hopefully render himself unemployable, Meeks admitted he thinks that was what he was unknowingly up to in hindsight.