A mum-of-two says her life has been “shattered” by a Ukrainian refugee who ran off with her boyfriend after giving her safe shelter in the UK.
Lorna Garnett, 28, claims she was skeptical about letting refugee Sofiia Karkadym into her home with her long term boyfriend, Anthony.
However, the mum said she became increasingly worried when their new housemate started wearing “low cut tops and red lipstick” around the house.
After two weeks Lorna snapped and kicked Sofiia out - but says she was left devastated when her partner of eight years went with Sofiia, according to Mirror Online.
Lorna told the Sun : “She set her sights on Anthony from the start, decided she wanted him and she took him.
“I just don’t understand how he could throw all that away for a woman he’s known for a fortnight. The life I knew is shattered.”
The story has even made headlines in Ukraine, as IT manager Sofiia and security guard Anthony cosied up for the cameras claiming they “couldn’t fight” their love for each other.
Tony had signed up to the Government scheme to house refugees in the wake of Russia’s invasion but claimed he turned to social media to offer help when he found the application process too slow.
The dad, who works in an NHS drop-in centre, was introduced to Sofiia on Facebook and offered to become her UK sponsor.
Sofiia travelled from Kyiv to Lviv, into Poland and then on to Berlin before flying to Manchester airport to meet Tony after securing her visa at the beginning of May.
Within days tensions rose as Tony and their new guest grew close — as Lorna became increasingly suspicious that Sofiia wanted more than just a roof over her head.
Regretting opening their rented home, Lorna’s concerns grew further when Sofiia would ‘put on make-up, style her hair and wear a low-cut top only around the time Tony returned home from work’.
After packing his bags to follow Sofiia, Lorna says Tony and his new muse started sharing a bed at his mum’s house.
He told Lorna they had fallen head over heels in love during a whirlwind romance and he wanted to build a new life with Sofiia, the heartbroken mum claims.
Lorna recalled that it had quickly “become clear” that Sofiia had no interest in spending time with her and said communication between them became difficult despite her “good English”.
Lorna added that she had even taken Sofiia shopping to help her pick out some new clothes but soon noticed that her guest rarely surfaced from her room until Tony was coming home from work.
She claims that Sofiia made “no effort with her appearance” all day, only putting on make up and styling her hair when Tony was returning.
A neighbour even warned Lorna she spotted Tony and Sofiia being “touchy feely” and talking intimately as they stood smoking together at the entrance to the family home.
The mum added: “By that time I’d started to feel like the third wheel as they sat on the sofa laughing and joking while I was ignored. I suddenly felt unwelcome in my own home.”
Lorna — who changed her surname by deed poll but is not married to Tony — has now warned other families about the dangers of inviting a stranger into their home.
Warning others, Lorna claimed she would never put anyone off helping Ukrainian refugees but added that she didn’t want to see anyone else go through this “devastating” ordeal.
Tony has apologised for the heartbreak but insisted he had “never had a love” like that with Sofiia as the pair admitted they had fallen in love at first sight.
Nearly 54,000 refugees from Ukraine have arrived in the UK under Government schemes.
Refugees Minister Lord Harrington said: “We are doing all we can to support new arrivals.”
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