A sobbing bride has recalled the devastating moment she realised her husband-to-be had abandoned her at the altar.
Gutted Kayley Stead, 27, was told the groom had walked out on the morning of their big day. But she opted to go ahead and celebrates with friends and family regardless.
Kayley had been engaged since August 2020 and was due to tie the knot in Wales, on September 15, 2022. But while doing her make-up, Kayley was told her former partner had left his groomsman and gone for a walk.
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The Mirror reports how her story made headlines around the UK and many praised Kayley for being brave in deciding to still party despite being jilted. In an update published on Facebook this month, the woman said she is "amazed" that her story still "lives on".
During an interview with Good Lad, Kayley said she decided to continue the celebrations in the name of self love. She explained: "I just wanted to show my nieces that you're not defined by somebody's actions. You're defined by how you overcome it.
"I wanted to stand with my sisters, my nieces and my best girl pals, get drunk with them, cry with them, and most importantly, laugh with them. And that's what we did."
On her big day, Kayley entered the party singing along to Lizzo's 'Good as Hell' with her bridal party, punched off the top tier of her wedding cake, and spent her first dance with the groomsmen, her brothers, Craig, 47, Matthew, 46, Gary, 46, and another Craig, 43, and her dad, Brian, 71.
After being jilted, insurance clerk Kayley, who lives in Portmead, Swansea, Wales, said: "I saw the groom at around 4pm the day before the wedding and I haven't heard from him since.
"We've tried to reach out to him, but I've had no response from him, no reason why. I've had no explanation - not that I want one now, because it's too far along the line.
"It was an absolute shock, I had no indication he was going to do this but seeing my girls distraught as well made me want to turn the day around. I didn't want to remember the day as complete sadness.
"The whole day, we were saying it felt like an episode of Hollyoaks or EastEnders. It didn't feel like a real-life situation.
"There were so many special moments, like my wedding entrance, the sparkler walk, the first dance and punching the wedding cake - so there was still happiness in the day.
"I'd spent all this money, I'd been looking forward to the food, a dance with my dad, spending time with my family, so why not?"
The night before the wedding, Kayley stayed in an AirBnB celebrating with her bridesmaids whilst the groom and his groomsmen stayed in a caravan near the venue.
Kayley said: "The groom and I had already agreed not to speak the night before the wedding anyway, so I didn't know what was happening on his end, I didn't have a clue. I was in complete bliss, unknown bliss."
Unbeknownst to Kayley, the groom left the caravan that evening and never returned, leaving the groomsmen to contact the bridal party with the dreadful news.
Kayley said: "We woke up at quarter past six when the make-up artist arrived, had breakfast together and then started getting ready.
"One of the groomsmen contacted my best friend to say the groom was gone, and the bridal party hid my phone so they could decide what was the best way to tell me and I wouldn't find out from someone else. They wanted to make sure he was definitely gone before panicking me.
"I found my phone and saw I had a missed call from his mum. I called her back and she was crying and told me he had gone for a drive in the early hours of the morning, and he was gone.
"At that point, I wasn't nervous, I was still quite hopeful, as throughout our relationship, he had sometimes gone for a walk or a drive to clear his head when he was nervous.
"For a couple of hours, I was saying he was going to be there, and I was reassuring the girls. I honestly believed, hand on heart, that he was going to be there.
"I asked the girls, his family and the groomsmen to continue getting ready, because I honestly believed he was going to be there."
At around 11am, Kayley had just sat to have her hair done with her make-up all finished when she spoke to the groom's dad on the phone - who said her partner had been in touch and would not be attending the wedding.
Kayley said: "At that point, I was gone. I was sobbing. Once I told my parents, the hairdresser and the videographer, that's when I had to tell myself that it wasn't going to happen.
"As a joke, the videographer said: 'Why don't you carry on, girls? You've spent all this money, you're not getting it back, all your guests are there, why don't you just go?'
"My sister was redoing my make-up, because at that point it was all just gone, and she said: 'Why don't you do it, Kayley?'
"That's when I was like, I'm going to do it. I'd spent all this money, I'd been looking forward to the food, a dance with my dad, spending time with my family, so why not?"
Kayley's bridal party called the groomsmen and told them to head to the wedding venue where they would carry on with the day, regardless of the groom turning up.
The two parties headed into the ceremony room together and told the guests what had happened before asking them to head out to the garden to meet Kayley instead.
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