A Ukrainian refugee who hit the headlines after running off with a British dad 10 days after arriving in the UK has defended the pair's actions.
Sofiia Karkadym has furiously hit back at claims she is a 'homewrecker' after starting a relationship with the partner of a woman who had housed and given her shelter after she arrived in Britain.
The 22-year-old fled the Russian invasion and travelled from Lviv to Bradford, West Yorkshire, to stay with Lorna Garnett, 28, and her boyfriend of eight years, Tony, reports the Mirror.
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The Ukrainian IT worker hit headlines in her home country and here in the UK after Lorna accused her of running off with her man - just ten days into her stay at their home with the couple's two children.
But Sofiia broke down in tears as she insisted that she is not a homewrecker and claimed Lorna had driven them together with constant suspicions, the Sun reports.
She said: “Her constant suspicions, the tension, it just pushed me and Tony closer together.
“She created this situation by constantly suggesting something was going on when it wasn’t. So this is her fault.”
Earlier this week, Lorna had told reporters that she had reservations about letting a stranger into her home but decided it was right to help the people of Ukraine.
But the mum claimed she became wary when she noticed Sofiia had "no interest" in speaking to her, and only made an effort with her appearance, including putting on "red lipstick and low cut tops", when Tony was due home from work.
Lorna snapped and turfed Sofiia out of her home, but said she was left devastated when Tony packed his bags to follow her and left their relationship of eight years behind.
When questioned on the love triangle, Tony admitted the "s**t has hit the fan" but claimed he was not able to fight his feelings for Sofiia and that it was "love at first sight".
But while Lorna says she has been left heartbroken, Sofiia claims she has been left shamed by her country and her own family, who have told her they "can't go out" because of her actions.
Defending her romance, Sofiia said the couple had "destroyed their relationship long before" she had arrived in the UK earlier this month.
But the devastated refugee said she had received abuse from trolls who accused her of putting off UK families from taking in Ukrainians in their desperate hour of need.
She said: “They say that because of me nobody in the UK will take in Ukrainians.
“Every UK family will now think ‘I can’t take in a refugee because she will take my husband from me’."
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Emotionally recounting her memories from the first day of the Russian invasion back in February, 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.
The pair admitted that they had been "attracted to each other" but respected the boundaries and insisted "nothing happened" until they had let Lorna and her home.
Sofiia added that she had decided to leave after Lorna was "complaining everyday" and tensions were rising - adding that it was Tony's decision to follow her.
Tony claimed "it was a no brainer" adding that he would "rather be on his arse and happy".
