It depends on four words in the sentencing order: with or without parole.
A life sentence with the possibility of parole is fundamentally different from life without parole, even though both sound permanent from the outside. If parole is possible, there is a real and legitimate path to release. It is not easy, it is not fast, and it is not guaranteed, but it exists. Inmates serving life with parole become eligible for a hearing after serving a minimum number of years set by the court or by state statute. At that hearing, the board evaluates institutional behavior, programming, risk assessment, and release plans. People do get out. It happens more than the general public realizes.
Life without parole is a different sentence entirely. It means exactly what it says, and no parole board hearing is ever coming. In those cases, the remaining avenues are narrower: appeals based on new evidence or constitutional violations, sentence commutation by a governor, or changes in the law that apply retroactively. None of those are easy paths, but they are not zero either. Laws change, administrations change, and cases that looked completely closed have been reopened.
The first thing to do is get clarity on exactly what the sentencing order says. His attorney or the court clerk can provide a copy of the Judgment and Commitment document. That paperwork tells you which situation you are actually in.
Whatever the answer is, you are also allowed to take care of yourself through this. Loving someone with a life sentence is its own kind of long haul, and finding support for yourself matters just as much as staying connected to him.