I reveal my husband’s “online romance” and the liar

A couple separated after her husband’s “online incident” with a fraudster who pretended to be a model – before his wife became friends with them to prove that it was all a fraudster.

Sarah Dalgleish, 61, believes she married her husband Clive, 67, until she discovered unusual payments on their shared credit card bill.

When retired Clive admitted that he had been sending money to a woman in America, her world collapsed and he believed in his relationship with the online.

The horror Sarah finds her husband approached by the woman on Facebook – claiming to be a fan of his favorite football team Wigan Athletic.

The account is actually pretending to be a real London glamorous model named Sophie Dalzell.

It is true that they speak and flirt with Clive’s impression on a messaging app every day, and she shares that her grandmother is uncomfortable and requires expensive medical care.

Since October, Clive has sent gift cards about $2,700 to gift cards to help pay for the fee.

“Sophie” even sent him a photo of her passport, as well as an address in Washington, D.C., where she claimed she resided – Sarah later discovered that Clive even looked up and raised the flight.

Clive was shocked to realize that he had watched about a part of the TV show, which was very similar to his relationship with “Sophie”, which put him in a scam.

But because he had already invested emotionally in his relationship with “Sophie”, Sarah thought it was unfaithful and they were now separated.

Sarah, an administrator from Belfast, Northern Ireland, said: “I saw the minimum payments in our shared bank account change and when I asked, Clive was very mean.

“I asked him a lot of questions when he explained – have he met them? Did they have sex?

“He explained that he fell in love with other people – but it didn’t seem rational, there were so many red flags.

“Before that, he made my pedestal in the way he loved me. So now I need to fall further.

“The 16 years of marriage have passed, people he has never met before – people he has never even existed.”

The story reveals Sarah after making changes to the minimum payment for her and Clive’s shared bank account.

He revealed the online incident and has been sending money to “Sophie” to support his family’s medical expenses.

Although the real model is based in London, originally from Manchester, the person behind the scam account is with Clive claiming to be from Washington, D.C. in the United States.

Sarah said Clive revealed to her that “Sophie” had started talking to him, initially on Facebook and then switched to another messaging app in October.

They talk and flirt weekly, sometimes even every day – he develops a romantic feeling for women.

She claimed to be between 30 and 32 years old and Clive had only seen her pictures.

Clive would buy apple gift cards from his local curry store and send card numbers to “Sophie” so she could ask for them.

By the time Sarah discovered their three-month “relationship”, he had sent out ‘Sophie’ about $2,700.

Sarah said: “I will never forget that date when I found everything.

“I found him going to a travel agency and looking up on his flights in Washington, D.C.

“I said to him, ‘If I thought she was a real person, I’ll pay you to go there now and no one is there to see you.”

“If anything, it wouldn’t be her- they would rob you blind and let you die. ”

To convince Clive, Sarah even made a fake profile and contacted Sophie and became friends with the account.

Sarah said: “In 10 minutes, she started asking me for money.

“I kept chatting for four to five days and then I told her she was destroying her life and going to hell.”

Clive didn’t really believe it was a scam until watching the TV show about Ruses and realized that his experience matched the ones on the show.

“That penny was left behind for him – he cried because he realized his love was no longer.”

Sarah said they contacted Halifax Bank but they were unable to ask for the money they spent because it was used to purchase the redeemed gift card.

She even went to the local curry to face with the manager, who said he suspected a foul and tried to stop Clive.

“Luckily, the credit card is his name, so 2k debt is his, not the united,” Sarah said.

Unfortunately, the incident led to the end of their 16-year relationship because “the damage has been done.”

Retired Clive shared his incident, saying: “I didn’t look for her, Sophie found me on Facebook and started to develop from there.

“I looked at this model and I knew she was from Manchester but she told me she moved to the United States because of her grandma.

“She sold it to me because she was a former porn star but now says she has settled down and worked in a restaurant.

“She sent me a photo of her passport and address – I do doubt where I hunted for validity, but she would give it.

“I think I know there are some problems, but there are some things you don’t want to believe.

“I’ve never been unfaithful to Sarah, our whole marriage was a good marriage, but we became separated and I think that’s why I was vulnerable to this.

“I did say to Sophie that if I get caught, I have to tell my wife the truth about us because I can’t lie to Sarah.

“But I believe Sophie and I believe we will eventually merge further.

“I’ve told Sarah several times how sorry I’m going to meet another man she can really be satisfied with.

“Sarah is a damn good woman, she is a great wife, and I hope she can be the best for her.”

Clive moved out of his and Sarah’s home outside Belfast and returned to his hometown of Portsmouth, Hampshire.

Although the scam caused their relationship to break down, both sides wanted to raise awareness of the damage that fraudsters could do, and their persuasiveness.

“If we can remind people of our story, that might prevent others from happening to this,” Sarah said.

Detective Principal Gary Miles, on behalf of Operation Fraud, said: “Action Fraud can confirm that it has been received. [this report] On February 20, 2025, this is currently being evaluated by the National Fraud Intelligence Agency (NFIB) of the London Police Department. ”

A Halifax spokesman said: “As victims of romantic scams, we have a lot of sympathy for Mr. Dargrish.

“Romantic scams, especially cruel scams, play with the emotions of the people.

“Romantic fraudsters often ask victims to buy gift cards so they can sell them in a profitable way.

“Never buy these for people you’ve never seen in real life, and if you suspect someone you’re talking to online, talk to someone you trust in your daily life to get an outward perspective.”

The real model Sophie Dalzell has been contacted for comment.