For Dawn Ottewell, what began as an unexpected love story has ended in heartbreak, uncertainty and a desperate search for answers….
For Dawn Ottewell, what began as an unexpected love story has ended in heartbreak, uncertainty and a desperate search for answers.
The 68-year-old British woman from Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, says she fell deeply in love with 31-year-old Nigerian, Bright Emokpae, after the pair met on the dating app Tinder in 2021.
At the time, Ottewell said she was going through one of the lowest periods of her life. Meeting Bright, she recalled, brought happiness and excitement back into her world.
Bright, who is from Edo State, was then studying in Cyprus.
Ottewell travelled to visit him, and their relationship grew stronger.
The couple eventually got married in 2022, with Ottewell later taking steps to help her young husband relocate to Britain.
In 2023, Bright travelled to Nigeria to complete the formalities for his UK visa before eventually joining his wife in Britain on a spousal visa.
But what Ottewell hoped would be the beginning of their life together soon became a source of pain.
She claimed that shortly after arriving in the UK, Bright became withdrawn and began asking her for money, while allegedly contributing little to the running of their home.
The couple eventually separated.
They later reconciled in October 2023, but Ottewell now believes there may have been more to the reunion than simply a desire to save their marriage.
She suspects Bright’s return may have been connected to a £63,000 settlement she received following a botched NHS prolapse operation.
Not long afterwards, she said, Bright left their home again.
This time, however, he did not return.
Ottewell said she has been unable to locate her husband and believes he may have moved to Scotland.
With the marriage effectively over, she wants a divorce. But there is another problem: she says Bright cannot be found to complete the divorce process.
“He’s done a runner and is refusing to sign the divorce papers because I believe he wants to cling on to his spouse visa,” she said.
For Ottewell, the disappearance has gone beyond the pain of a failed marriage.
She is now worried about what could happen to her estate if she dies before the marriage is legally dissolved.
She has three children and fears that her unresolved marriage could affect what they eventually inherit.
“My biggest fear is that I’ll die before this is sorted out and he’ll run off with the money my three children should inherit,” she said.
The situation has left Ottewell questioning the relationship she once believed had brought her a second chance at happiness.
“I feel I’m being used,” she said.
Her story is now a painful reflection on a relationship that began with romance, crossed international borders and ended with one partner searching for the other.
Ottewell says she helped Bright build a new life in Britain because she believed they were building that life together.
Now, she wants to know where the man she married has gone.
She has appealed for information that could help locate him, particularly as she believes he may now be in Scotland.
Looking back at her experience, Ottewell has also issued a warning to people who enter relationships with partners from overseas.
“I would advise people to be very careful who they marry, especially when the person is from abroad, because a lot of them are just doing it for a visa, and then they disappear,” she said.
