Picture perfect

BRIDE BETRAYED

The marria

crasher

Two years on, my heart was broken. And someone knew why...

Nikki Carter, 26, Immingham

Opening my eyes, excitement rushed through me as I stretched out in bed. Today’s the day! It was September 2017 and I was marrying the man of my dreams.

I was becoming Mrs Lewis Smith, a moment I’d dreamt of since we got together six years ago.

I thought back to when we’d met. Friends at first, but then our connection blossomed into something more. Charming and thoughtful, Lewis, 29, was great with my son from a previous relationship, Elliot, then just 1.

So when I fell pregnant unexpectedly in December 2012, I was thrilled.

And on Christmas Day, Lewis had a surprise of his own.

‘Nikki, will you marry me?’ he’d asked, opening up a box to show me a beautiful ring.

‘Yes, of course!’ I cried, kissing him.

The next nine months were a whirlwind.

When our son Brody

was born in September 2013, Lewis was every inch the doting daddy.

With two boys to look after, we didn’t rush to book our wedding. ‘As long as I get to marry you, I don’t mind waiting,’ I’d grinned. Planning a small ceremony, we didn’t want a fuss. Our guest list was a handful of our closest friends and family.

And here I was, almost five years since Lewis popped the question, about to the knot.

Walking into the office, hours later, white gown, my ey with happy tears a loved ones grinning at me. My kids, family, friends. And our old neighbours Jess, then 21, and Jamie, 24, had come along, too.

It’d been lovely living

t door to Jess. was always re for a cuppa a chat.

ut truthfully, was lucky they de the guest t. See, Lewis d hit it off th Jamie, t didn’t like ss much. She’s here gain?’ he’d

umble if he ame in and she as at ours. I’d always tick up for her. Even though we’d both moved house

now, we stayed n touch.

So, it made perfect sense for Jess and Me and my three boys My friend Jess

Jamie to share our big day. ‘Congratulations!’ Jess cheered, giving me a big hug after the ceremony.

As we all posed for pictures together, I was on cloud nine.

The perfect day. A month later, I fell pregnant again. Wesley was born in July 2018, and our family felt complete.

But it wasn’t long after the birth that Lewis started to change.

In October 2018, he lost his job as a mechanic. And while he tried to find another, he didn’t have much success.

Money became tight, tension grew between us. We got trapped in a miserable cycle.

We’d snap at each other at the tiniest thing, Lewis would walk out and stay at his mum’s for the night, come home the next day, begging forgiveness.

With a new baby to care for and hectic lives, I just assumed we were going

She watched me and Lewis exchange vows

She’d known every detail of my break-up h a rough patch.

ll marriages, right? wedding vows meant ing to me, and I’d ed to stand by Lewis for better and for worse. But in January 2019, after yet another argument, Lewis walked out again.

Only, this time, he didn’t come back for six days. I was left with the kids, no way of getting in touch with him.

‘You can’t keep doing this,’ I yelled when he walked through the door.

‘I promise I won’t,’ he replied. But a month on, the same thing happened again. And then I knew. Our marriage was over.

Devastated, I tried to stay strong for the kids.

And luckily, Jess became my shoulder to cry on. Armed with a bottle of wine and tissues, she came round most nights.

‘You’ll get through this, Nikki,’ she soothed.

I don’t know what I would’ve done without her. But as time went on, she stopped popping in as much. And in July 2019, Jamie called me out of the blue.

Hearing his sobs through the phone, I panicked.

‘Jamie?’ I said. ‘What’s wrong? What’s happened?’

‘Jessica’s left me,’ he cried. My heart went out to him. After all, I knew exactly how he felt.

‘Oh, Jamie,’ I said. ‘I’m so sorry.’

Then he said something that made my blood run cold. ‘Nikki, there’s more. She’s left, and she’s moved in with him.’

‘Who do you mean?’ I said.

‘She’s moved in with Lewis. They’re together,’ Jamie replied. Speechless, I hoped Jamie had got this wrong. Jess was my friend – wasn’t she? She’d known every detail of my break-up with Lewis, I’d poured my heart out to her.

She wouldn’t do that to me, would she?

‘You’re wrong,’ I told Jamie over the phone.

‘She told me herself,’ he said. ‘She said she wants to be with him, not me. They’ve screwed both of us over, Nikki.’

As I put the phone down, I felt so confused.

Lewis didn’t even like Jess, and now he’s in a relationship with her?

But as I played it around and around in my head, my confusion gave way to anger. And then, months later, Lewis called out the blue.

‘Are you with Jess?’ I yelled. ‘It’s none of your business,’ he said bluntly.

‘I want to know who will be around my kids,’ I said. ‘OK, yes,’ he said. ‘Jess and I are together. But it’s a recent thing. We weren’t doing anything while I was with you.’

‘A recent thing? Four months after you leave me, you’re with my friend?’ I yelled.

‘I’m not doing this, Nikki,’ he replied. ‘I’ve told you the truth.’

With that, he hung up. Dissolving into sobs, I felt sick to my stomach.

The pair maintain that they only got together after me and Lewis split.

Whatever, I feel betrayed and think anyone in my position would.

Jess had watched me marry Lewis – and she’s shacked up with him. I’ve not yet filed for divorce, but I will do soon. These days, I’m more careful about who I invite into my home for a cuppa. I don’t need doublecrossers like that in my life.

Jess says, ‘I was there for Nikki through thick and thin but I didn’t come into her family home and steal her husband. At the end of the day, her partner broke up with her. I helped them both and then me and her partner got close. Can’t partners ever move on?’

Lewis says, ‘I didn’t leave her for anybody. I left Nikki because it was a toxic relationship. Jess and I were there for each other a lot and became close. Jess wasn’t happy in the relationship with Jamie and wanted to get out. I offered her a place to stay and a few weeks later, we got together. It’s not strange at all that she was at the wedding.’