Kelly Wood, 26, is a marine travel consultant from Lowestoft, Suffolk
”With rose petals scattered on the bed, towels fashioned into swans and a bottle of champagne on ice, the honeymoon suite was everything I’d imagined it to be. But the man I was with wasn’t my new husband – I’d met him just hours earlier.
A month before, in January 2015, I was watching Good Morning Britain while getting ready for work.
A guy called John Whitbread, 32, was discussing how his fiancée had called off their wedding, so he was auctioning off her place on their two-week Dominican Republic honeymoon on eBay for charity. He was good-looking and seemed genuine.
My last serious relationship had ended five years earlier. Since then, I hadn’t been on a proper holiday as all my friends were going away with their partners, and I didn’t want to travel alone. So even though I knew it was totally reckless, I just thought: ‘Why not?’
I watched some YouTube videos John had posted to get an idea of what he was like, and spoke to my parents. They were supportive, but shocked when they found out I’d used my savings to put in a bid of £2,500. I was outbid because John’s TV appearance had generated lots of publicity, but I followed the story and saw that the winner had pulled out, so John had decided to hold a raffle for the place instead. I bought four £10 tickets, and on January 25, John rang to tell me I’d won. I screamed down the phone!
John and I exchanged emails, but we didn’t meet until the day of the flight. The night before, I was so excited I couldn’t sleep.
We met at Manchester Airport on February 16. Even though he was a stranger, I felt totally safe as the Good Morning Britain crew were there to film it.
We hugged awkwardly, and I was a bit dumbstruck. But once we got chatting, we hit it off. To my relief, he was the same as he’d appeared on TV.
In the honeymoon suite at BlueBay Villas Doradas, we pushed the beds apart, then headed down to the pool. We spent most of the holiday together, going to the beach, quad-biking, snorkelling and swimming with dolphins, but at no point did one of us make a move.
I knew he was heartbroken, so romance wasn’t on the cards. I wouldn’t have been averse to it, but for me it was more about having a great holiday and making a new friend. John hid his heartbreak well, but there were moments when I’d catch him staring into the distance. I could tell that he was imagining being there with his ex-girlfriend. He confessed they’d split after she said they weren’t soulmates, but he never bad-mouthed her, and I respected him for being a gentleman.
The end of the holiday was bittersweet – there’d been so much anticipation and the trip had been fun, so I was sad it was over. After landing back home, John and I agreed to keep in contact and have spoken on the phone a few times since. As far as I know, he’s still single, but I don’t think our friendship will develop into anything more. Nonetheless, I’ve got absolutely no regrets about the holiday. I just hope if I have a real honeymoon it can live up to my first fake one.”
BTW
Las Vegas was the most popular honeymoon destination of last year, with the most newly-weds checking in on Facebook.
Some of the craziest items ever sold on eBay include the meaning of life, a leftover Brussels sprout and a cheese toastie bearing the “face” of the Virgin Mary.
As told to: Cyan Turan Photography: Syriol Jones Hair & make-up: Cat Crawford Kelly wears: coat, Dorothy Perkins; dress, New Look John donated the raffle proceeds to Balls To Cancer (Ballstocancer.co.uk)
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