UK dad who left wife for Ukrainian refugee now live together in Bradford

A dad who left his partner to run off with a Ukrainian refugee lodger has revealed the heavy price he’s paid.

A dad who left his partner to run off with a Ukrainian refugee lodger has revealed the heavy price he’s paid.

Tony Garnett, 29, shocked Britain when he walked out on his partner Lorna and their kids for refugee Sofiia Karkadym, 22, after just 10 days, The Sun reports.

The Sun exclusively revealed how Ms Karkadym, who fled the city Kyiv at the start of the war, was given shelter in the UK by Mr Garnett.

But just over a week later, his partner accused the IT worker of setting her sights on her man.

Ms Karkadym packed her bags, but Lorna was left heartbroken after Mr Garnett, a security guard, followed her out of the door.

And after the drama, the dad-of-two has now revealed that he is no longer allowed to see his kids, according to Yorkshire Live.

However, Mr Garnett said that despite a torrent of online abuse every day, he and his new girlfriend are doing brilliantly together.

The couple are renting a house in Bradford, in England’s West Yorkshire, and spoke of how happy they are that things worked out.

Mr Garnett claims that at no point did he ever say it was “love at first sight” with Ms Karkadym.

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Tony Garnett and Sofiia Karkadym. Picture: Mega Agency

He also alleges that media organisations have since offered him “silly amounts of money” to speak out but he turned these down.

And he claimed that while Ms Karkadym was in Bradford, she had faced “threats and lies” which he had “saved” her from.

“No one is interested in the truth. Me and Sofiia are doing brilliantly,” he said.

“We have got our own house; no drama [and] getting to know each other.

“In terms of the public, they don’t have a clue. I am quite thick-skinned – there’s two sides. I am getting men messaging me saying, ‘I wish I could do the same to my wife,’ and women asking me to run away with them.

“Sofiia is getting abuse, people calling her a home-wrecker, and people talking about petitions to deport her.”

Family and friends had been supportive because he said “they know the true story”.

Mr Garnett says that because he was sponsoring Ms Karkadym during her stay in the UK, he felt he had to offer her protection and that they had fallen for one another after he had moved out of the family home.

Mr Garnett with his former partner Lorna. Picture: Supplied

And he claimed that his relationship with Lorna had “numerous problems before Sofiia arrived” and had been “on and off”.

Speaking on the abuse he and Ms Karkadym receive on social media, Mr Garnett claimed he wasn’t a monster, saying, “I don’t reply to no messages, I block them.

“I am not a monster at all. I sleep very well at night … I saved her from Ukraine and from … abuse. I have done the right thing. Before I put up with things for the sake of my kids. Why did I put up with it?” he said.

But he also revealed that not all messages have been abusive.

“People have offered support and say they trust our judgment and they understand a man is not going to leave a relationship if something is not going on before,” he said.

Mr Garnett previously decided to sign up to the British Government scheme to house refugees in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

But when he found the application process too slow, he took to social media to offer help.

Mr Garnett, who owns his own security company, was introduced to Ms Karkadym on Facebook and offered to become her UK sponsor.

Mr Garnett’s ex-partner Lorna, said Ms Karkadym ‘set her sights on Anthony from the start’. Picture: News Licensing/Mega Agency

Ms Karkadym made her way from Kyiv to Manchester and moved in with Mr Garnett and Lorna in Bradford, West Yorks.

But within days tensions rose as Mr Garnett and their new guest grew close – and Lorna began regretting ever opening up their home.

Lorna told The Sun she became increasingly suspicious that Ms Karkadym wanted more than just a roof over her head.

And her concern grew when Ms Karkadym would put on make-up, and wear revealing clothes only around the time Mr Garnett returned home from work.

“She set her sights on Anthony from the start, decided she wanted him and she took him,” Lorna told The Sun.

“I just don’t understand how he could throw all that away for a woman he’s known for a fortnight. The life I knew is shattered.

“I would never put anyone off taking refugees. This is a crisis in Ukraine and people like me will want to have the heart to help those in need.

“But I don’t want this to happen to anyone else because it’s been devastating.”

Lorna and Mr Garnett were not married but had been together since 2014, having two children during that time.

This article originally appeared on The Sun and was reproduced with permission