A Ukrainian refugee accused of being a homewrecker after running away with a taken man has spoken out. Sofiia Karkadym, 22, was offered shelter in the UK after fleeing the conflict in Ukraine by Lorna Garnett and her long-term partner Tony in May 2022.
She stayed with the couple and their two children for just ten days in Yorkshire before she decided to leave, and Tony decided that he would go with her.
Lorna said that she felt Sofiia had no interest in talking to her and only had eyes for her partner - who she had been in a relationship with since 2014.
However Sofiia, who is an IT worker, broke down in tears as she insisted that she is not a homewrecker and claimed that Lorna had driven them together with her constant suspicions. She even went as far to say that her parents were now ashamed of her for what had occurred, Yorkshire Live reports.
Now, Sofiia has taken to social media to address the rumours and provide an update on how her relationship with Tony is going. Posting on June 24 to Instagram, she said: "Finally, I decided to write a post about the world famous recent events.
"The first thing I want to say is I didn't steal anyone from the family. It was his conscious and informed decision, the decision of a 29-year-old man who has the right to love, has the right to be happy and has the right to choose who to be with.
"The second thing I want to highlight is the concept of the 'yellow press'. Do you really think someone can be kidnapped from a happy family in 10 days?
"Anthony and I are doing great. And from around here begins to come out the terrible truth, which I will soon also describe in the next post.
"So those who from the very beginning supported me and knew that behind any of my acts is something real and wonderful, thank you. The rest, you will be disappointed with your judgements."
Back in May when the story was first reported Sofiia, from Kyiv, explained how much her life changed in an instant.
Forced to leave behind her job, routine and friends, Sofiia decided her safest option was to seek refuge in the UK and posted her application for a sponsor on the Opora Homes for Ukraine site in April.
After logging onto the site Tony claimed he came across Sofiia's details first but was frustrated at how slow the process was moving and began discussing the move over Facebook.
Sofiia travelled from Ukraine to Germany before landing in Manchester on May 4 where she was picked up by Tony.
After her horrific ordeal, Sofiia claimed all she wanted was someone to talk to but claimed Lorna would question why Tony was spending time watching telly with their guest every night. When questioned on the love triangle, Tony admitted the "s**t has hit the fan".
Tony later claimed he was not able to fight his feelings for Sofiia and that it was "love at first sight". Tony claimed "it was a no brainer" adding that he would "rather be on his arse and happy".
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