A 29 yr-old bride, Michelle Young, who is yet to recover from her heartbreak has narrated how the love of her life whom she dated for seven years dumped her barely four months after getting married.
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UK bride narrates how groom ran away with female wedding guest 4 months after marriage (PHOTOS)
Michelle was fine with Alan inviting his colleagues to the wedding, she admits that alarm bells rang in her head when Alan mentioned that his colleague 27-yr-old Gemma, was going to be there
Heartbroken Michelle Young, pictured centre, was dumped by her husband Alan Hoffman, centre, three months after her wedding - for guest Gemma Hadley, third from left
Young said he husband 36-yr-old Alan Hoffman, ran off with a wedding guest and work colleague - Gemma Hadley.
Despite the hard blow, she's still trying to move on with her life which was broken in pieces and focus on 'moving on' with the rest of her life.
According to Young, theirs was love at first sight when she was set up on a blind date with Alan, who was a former infantry soldier, in January 2004.
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"I worked in Clinton Cards in Basingstoke at the time, and my colleague knew Alan and thought we would get on well," she said. "We met up, and went to the cinema and out for dinner afterwards.
"As an ex-army infantry soldier, Alan was loud and proud, while I was much more shy and retiring - but surprisingly we got on like a house on fire. Our relationship progressed and it wasn't long before we moved in together."
Eleven months later, on Christmas Day 2004, Alan proposed.
"He gave me several different shaped boxes and in the smallest box was a beautiful gold band with three diamonds. I was over the moon. When I saw the ring I almost cried. I was so happy - I couldn't wait to marry him," said Michelle.
Six years later, the couple finally set a date and Michelle spent a whole year excitedly planning her dream wedding.
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"We moved to Bournemouth in 2010, so we decided on Bournemouth Town Hall for the ceremony and booked a local bowls club for the reception," she said.
"Although I was a little nervous, I had waited a long time for this day. Alan and I were finally tying the knot after being engaged for seven years so it was a big deal to me.
"We invited 70 of our closest family and friends to the event and I made everything myself, including the invitations, table decorations and the wedding favours.
"I chose a beautiful sweetheart neckline gown, and my work colleagues helped to make me a wedding cake.'"
Alan who worked as a shelf-stacker at the local Sainsbury's,was on good terms with his work colleagues so much that he asked if he could invite them to his big day.
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"He often spoke about his colleagues as they all got on so well," Michelle said. "So when he asked if he could invite a group of them to the wedding, I instantly said yes.
"I told him it would be lovely to have them there. I thought it was nice that he wanted them to be part of our day."
And although Michelle was fine with Alan inviting his colleagues to the wedding, she admits that alarm bells rang in her head when Alan mentioned that his colleague 27-yr-old Gemma, was going to be there.
Michelle and Alan got married in September 2012, with seven bridesmaids and three page boys. Their first dance was Westlife's 'Something Right'.
"The day was absolutely perfect," she said. "We exchanged vows in front of everyone who was important to us. I'd never been happier but I couldn't help but notice when Alan kept disappearing to talk to his colleagues, including Gemma, who kept glancing over at me.
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"I tried to push any worries out of my head. He was probably just checking they were having a good time. Besides, he'd just married me."
But the ink had barely dried on their marriage certificate when Alan started to change. Within a few weeks he became distant and less interested in sex.
"At first I thought it was because we worked alternating shifts, but soon he started dropping Gemma into conversation more and more," said Michelle.
"They were seeing a lot of each other. My instincts told me that something wasn't right. I didn't want to make a fuss, but I felt threatened by Gemma.
"She was younger, slimmer and prettier than me. And I didn't feel comfortable with the idea of her and Alan being alone together in my flat. I tentatively asked Alan if there was something between them but he laughed it off. She also had a boyfriend, so Alan said he thought the idea was ludicrous.
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"But although Alan always insisted there was nothing going on between them, I couldn't help feeling jealous by their friendship. I just tried to bury my feelings about it."
But in January 2013 - barely four months after they married - Alan came home from work one day and said they needed to talk. It was then he admitted that he no longer loved Michelle - and had feelings for Gemma instead.
"He was stood by the sink, pretending to wash some dishes, when he blurted out the horrible truth," Michelle said. "He just said: 'I don't love you anymore,' and my heart shattered into a thousand pieces."
"He said things just weren't right and that they hadn't been right for ages, and that I felt more like his sister than his wife.
"His words hit hard - but I knew he was telling the truth, I could tell it in the way he spoke. But I also knew there was more to it than that. I asked him if he had feelings for anyone else, and he nodded. That's when I asked him if it was Gemma, and he nodded again. Devastation engulfed me."
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Although he swore nothing had happened between them, Alan admitted to Michelle that he had spoken to Gemma about his feelings for her - and that she felt the same.
"He said he wanted to see where things led with her," Michelle said. "I was heartbroken. We had only been married for a few months and already Alan was leaving me for somebody else.
"There was so much running through my head. I wasn't sure if I believed what he was saying - how could you just leave your wife and partner of eight years for your work colleague who you had never even kissed?
"It was made worse when friends of ours then told me that they had seen Gemma and Alan out and about together on a few occasions - they obviously couldn't keep away from each other."
Despite her heartbreak, Michelle decided to take the dignified approach and tried to keep on good terms with Alan - even offering to move out so he didn't have to. She moved in with her best friend Toni and kept in touch with Alan.
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Within a few months, he admitted to Michelle that Gemma had broken up with her boyfriend and that they were seeing each other.
Now, two years on, Alan is still with Gemma, while Michelle is waiting for her divorce to come through.
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