A man who ditched his family to start a new life with a Ukrainian refugee that they sponsored has been hit with a restraining order by his former partner. Antony Garnett, 29, is prohibited from contacting Lorna, 28, or being within 100 metres of their former family home.
The order has been placed following a court hearing in which Lorna, who is the mother of Tony's two young daughters, claimed that he had sent abusive messages to her. The former security guard ran off with Sofiia Karkadym, 22, just ten days after he and Lorna welcomed her into their home.
The couple are now making plans to start a family and Tony is pursuing a new career in rap music. The non-molestation restraining order, which Tony agreed to without admissions, prevents him from getting in touch with Lorna via phone, text message, email or social media, The Mirror reports.
He said: “If it helps her sleep at night then so be it. I know the truth. I’ve done nothing wrong. I didn’t turn up with a solicitor because I don’t have anything to defend. Sadly, this is turning into an episode of Jeremy Kyle.”
Lorna, who never married Tony but did take his surname via deed poll, states that she would like nothing more to do with her ex and wants him to leave her alone. She has promised not to make "derogatory" remarks about him online and to delete old social media posts of this nature.
Both attended the hearing at Bradford County Court. Lorna listened to her solicitor set out the conditions of the restraining order from the back of the courtroom. Tony, who wore sunglasses and a grey chequered suit, told the court: “I’m that busy now with media, TV and music that I don’t need to go to the house.”
Sofiia, who has said she wants to have children with her new man, was not present. Sofiia arrived at the Garrett's household in Bradford, West Yorkshire, on May 4 after fleeing the city of Lviv, which was under attack from Russian President Vladimir Putin's troops.
She left behind her divorced parents, her stepfather and younger sister Elizabeth, aged 13. Tony first picked Sofiia up from Manchester Airport, which is around 50 miles from their Bradford home.
The first thing Tony did was take her to a drive-thru McDonald's for a Big Mac, and the pair hit it off within days, realising they had a connection. Lorna, who recalls becoming concerned when their new housemate began wearing "low cut tops and red lipstick" around the house, eventually snapped and kicked Sofiia out.
She was left devastated when her partner of eight years left with her and says her life has been "shattered" by the ordeal.
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