Bride’s Wedding Day Ruined After Sister-in-Law Throws Black Paint on Her in Revenge Attack

A bride’s long-awaited wedding day turned into a traumatic ordeal after her sister-in-law allegedly carried out a “revenge” attack, pouring black paint over her just hours before the ceremony.

The victim, Gemma Monk, was forced to change her wedding dress at the last minute following the incident, which occurred on May 24, 2024.

According to reports, her sister-in-law, Antonia Eastwood, carried out the attack amid an ongoing family dispute. The conflict reportedly stemmed from an earlier disagreement during Eastwood’s own wedding to Gemma’s brother, Ashley, in September the previous year.

Despite the incident, Gemma proceeded with the ceremony at Oakwood House, a Victorian mansion, where she married her childhood sweetheart, Ken Monk, after 20 years together. She walked down the aisle approximately two hours after her £1,800 dress had been drenched in paint.

At the time, she was also dealing with a cancer scare and later stated that Eastwood was aware of her situation.

The mother-of-two, who works in mental health, had to clean herself after paint covered much of the left side of her face, arm, and chest. She ultimately borrowed another dress for the ceremony.

Speaking about the ordeal, she said:
“We had waited for that day for so long. Nothing was going to stop me. She was determined that the wedding was not going to happen.

“I did not think twice, I would have walked down the aisle in my knickers and with black paint over my face if I had to”

Following the incident, Eastwood was sentenced to ten months in prison, suspended for 12 months, and ordered to complete 160 hours of unpaid work after pleading guilty to two counts of criminal damage.

The attack has had a lasting emotional impact on Mrs Monk. Since the wedding, she has reportedly suffered from depression and has been unable to work.

In a victim impact statement presented at Maidstone Crown Court, she said the incident:
“changed my outlook on life and made me question whether I had done something really bad”

She also described how the experience affected her emotionally, stating that she broke down while giving her statement to police.

Mrs Monk added that she would have struggled to cope without the support of her husband and children and said the attack left her feeling stripped of her dignity.

Reflecting on the day, she said it
“turned the most special day of my life into the worst memory I will never forget”

The couple were also forced to cancel their honeymoon to the Maldives as a result of the incident.

Prosecutor Pietro Matarazzo told the court:
‘Her wedding dress turned black. It was splattered with paint, as were her eyes, face, and skin.’

During proceedings, it was revealed that Eastwood admitted the act was a revenge attack in a pre-sentence report, although she had initially given “no comment” responses during police questioning.

Defence lawyer Clement Idowu told the court that Eastwood “wished to apologise” and noted that the case had taken a toll on her mental health.

Presiding judge Oliver Saxby KC described the incident as deeply troubling, stating that the defendant had turned the wedding into a “nightmare” and had “wanted to wreck her day.”

He further described her actions as
‘horrid and nasty and mean’.

In addition to the suspended sentence and unpaid work, Eastwood was handed a 10-year restraining order and ordered to pay £5,000 in compensation—£4,000 to Mrs Monk and £1,000 to Oakwood House.

Following the sentencing, Mrs Monk said she would never accept her sister-in-law’s apology and described the punishment as “too light.”

She also revealed that she and her husband no longer celebrate their wedding anniversary due to the traumatic experience but plan to renew their vows in the future to create new, positive memories.