Insights into the Dismissal of UW-La Crosse Chancellor Joe Gow Over Personal Videos with Wife Carmen Wilson.

Joe Gow expresses a singular regret regarding the recent intimate videos that led to the termination of his 17-year tenure as chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.

Gow’s remorse lies in having kept this aspect of his life concealed for so long, driven by the apprehension that openness might result in rejection from the higher education community. Despite years of university leaders advocating for free speech, Gow decided to challenge that commitment, especially since he had already planned to step down from the chancellorship. Speaking to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, he stated, “I felt a little bit more open about ‘let’s raise these free speech issues and see how the board responds,’ and now we know.”

The UW Board of Regents unanimously ousted Gow after discovering explicit videos featuring him and his wife, Carmen Wilson, posted on adult websites in recent months. The 63-year-old Gow mentioned that he and Wilson had discussed the matter and chose to be more transparent about their previously private lives.

Here’s a glimpse into Joe Gow, his wife Carmen Wilson, and their professional backgrounds.

Who is Carmen Wilson, the wife of the dismissed UW-La Crosse Chancellor Joe Gow? Wilson, 56, worked at UW-La Crosse for approximately 15 years, starting in 1996, primarily in the psychology department, as indicated by her online résumé. She holds a doctoral degree in counseling psychology from Iowa State University.

In 2006, while Wilson served as an associate professor of psychology, she chaired the search committee that selected Gow as the new chancellor for the university. Wilson later became Gow’s chief of staff in the chancellor’s office from 2008 to 2011. Following that, she led UW-Rock County from 2011 to 2016, until her position was eliminated due to budget cuts. Subsequently, she served as provost and vice president for academic affairs at Dickinson State University in North Dakota from 2016 to 2019.

Wilson and Gow tied the knot in June 2014 on the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, an event featured in a UW-La Crosse news roundup. Both share a passion for running, and they even ran from opposite sides of the famous San Francisco bridge to meet at the middle for their ceremony.

During Gow’s tenure as chancellor, Wilson held the position of “associate to the chancellor” as per his contract, serving in an unpaid capacity to complement the chancellor’s public-facing role. Wilson also played keyboard and sang vocals in The FurLow Riders, a blues-rock band led by Gow. The band performed at free “Chillin’ With the Chancellor” events at UW-La Crosse. Carmen Wilson and her husband Joe Gow feature in videos with adult film stars creating vegan dishes Wilson and Gow appear in videos on various adult websites under the account name “Sexy Happy Couple,” a moniker also used on at least two social media accounts promoting their videos.

The videos showcase the couple cooking vegan dishes with adult film stars. Their X (formerly Twitter) account notes: “Visit our LoyalFans and OnlyFans sites for fully explicit scenes!” The couple has also authored two books under pseudonyms, detailing their experiences in the adult film industry. Both books and their social media accounts feature unmistakable photos of Gow and Wilson.

Books authored by Carmen Wilson and Joe Gow address the tension between their public status and private lives The couple published two books together under the pseudonyms Geri and Jay Hart. The author bio on Amazon states that these names are pseudonyms for “a married woman and man who serve in executive positions at two well-known organizations in the U.S.” An author photo clearly shows Gow and Wilson.

Although the books do not reference La Crosse, Wisconsin, or any university work, they allude to the couple’s standing in the community and the conflict they felt between the expectations of their “establishment” careers and their desire to be more open about their intimate lives.

In “Monogamy with Benefits: How Porn Enriches Our Relationship,” published in 2015, the couple acknowledges their entrenched position in the local establishment and the potential scandal if their peers were to learn about their activities. The book ends with their first experience in a professionally produced sex video just before their marriage. Their 2018 book, “Married with Benefits: Our Real-life Adult Industry Adventures,” describes additional experiences creating adult content and collaborating with other performers.

Joe Gow and Carmen Wilson discussed ‘being more open’ in recent months The videos, uploaded under the couple’s chosen aliases Joe and Carmen, all appear to have been posted since November 1, a couple of months after Gow announced his intention to step down as chancellor and return as a faculty member next fall.