Who is Marc Fogel’s wife? What we know about Jane Fogel amid husband’s release from Russia

After being held in a Russian prison for more than three years, Marc Fogel, a schoolteacher, finally made it back home to the United States. Fogel was at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo International Airport when the Russian authorities apprehended him in August 2021. At the time of his arrest, Marc was accompanied by his wife Jane Fogel.

For those unaware, Jane, like her husband Marc Fogel, is also a teacher. Before Marc’s arrest, he and Jane taught at Moscow’s Anglo-American School for almost a decade. Their children were also reported to have studied at the same school. In addition to their teaching career in Russia, Jane and Marc traveled across different countries as teachers.

According to Marc’s Story on freemarcfogel.net, Jane, along with Marc, taught at different high schools in countries like Colombia, Malaysia, Oman, Venezuela, and more. Before the incident in August 2021, Jane and Marc had decided to quit teaching after their 10th anniversary in Russia. Unfortunately, Marc’s arrest turned the family’s world upside down.

The family’s three and half years of waiting ended in February 2025, when Marc finally got freed from the Russian prison. After his release, Jane, along with her sons Ethan and Sam, released a joint statement thanking the Trump administration,

“Thanks to the unwavering leadership of President Trump, Marc will soon be back on American soil, free where he belongs. This has been the darkest and most painful period of our lives, but today, we begin to heal.”

Marc Fogel initially faced a 14-year sentence after getting convicted of drug trafficking. After his release, Fogel also went on to meet President Trump at the White House.

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Marc Fogel was apprehended for carrying 17 grams of medical marijuana

Jane and Marc Fogel, who were in the US for their summer break, returned to Russia in August 2021. Marc was reportedly suffering from physical ailments and was prescribed medical marijuana for the treatment. On their return to Moscow, Marc was carrying 17 grams of medical marijuana, which customs found in his baggage.

Fogel was supposedly pulled aside by the authorities and apprehended, while Jane Fogel was let go. After 10 months, Marc was convicted in June 2022 for drug trafficking. Following his conviction, he was shifted from a Moscow detention center to a penal colony in October of that year, per Politico.

However, despite his arrest and conviction, Marc was still not designated as “wrongfully detained,” by the US State Department. The treatment of Marc’s case drew comparisons with that of Brittany Griner, a WNBA player. She was arrested in February 2022 in a similar case and was classed as “wrongfully detained” by the US State Department.

After receiving the designation from the US, Griner was released in December 2022 by the Russian authorities. Despite Fogel’s family's appeals, he was not designated as wrongfully detained until August 2024. On August 1, 2024, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan described Fogel as wrongfully detained in public, a first for a US government official.

Before the announcement, Marc Fogel’s elderly mother, Malphine, even met with the then-GOP presidential candidate Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, before his rally. Coincidentally, the rally was cut short after an assassination attempt was made on Donald Trump. Later in August, Marc’s family showed their disappointment after his exclusion from the US-Russia prison swap.

Ultimately, Marc Fogel was freed on February 11, 2025, after successful diplomatic discussions. The President greeted him in the White House after he landed in the US. On meeting Trump, Fogel said,

“President Trump is a hero. These men that came from the Diplomatic service are heroes. The senators and representatives or past legislation, in my honor to get me home, are the heroes. I am in awe of what they all did. My family has been a force. I think my 95-year-old mother is probably the most dynamic 95-year-old on Earth right now.”

Speaking briefly about his experience and the support he got, Marc Fogel thanked everyone involved. He also added,

“I will forever be indebted to President Trump, to Steve [Witkoff] over there — what a dynamic man this guy is. When I met him, the energy, the can-do attitude just exudes from his body.”

Donald Trump, who was standing beside Fogel, also recalled his conversation with the school teacher’s 95-year-old mother and how he promised her to bring her son back.