A 68-year-old British woman has spoken out after her 31-year-old Nigerian husband reportedly disappeared after moving to the United Kingdom, leaving her struggling to locate him so she can proceed with their divorce.
Dawn Otewell said she met Bright Emokpae, from Edo State, Nigeria, on a dating app while she was feeling lonely and depressed.
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Despite being 36 years older than Bright, Dawn said he professed his love for her and made her believe his feelings were genuine. She eventually gave the relationship a chance.
The grandmother of seven said she is also battling health problems, including heart disease, sciatica, angina and IBS, and fears what could happen to her estate if she dies before the marriage is legally ended.
Dawn said she has been unable to locate Bright so she can serve him with the necessary divorce documents.
“It’s an absolute nightmare,” Dawn, from Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, told The Sun UK.
“I’m still his legally married wife, but apparently, l have no right to know where he is.
“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.
“I haven’t spoken to Bright since he blocked me on social media about eight months ago.
“Our last conversation was when I told him: I know you’ve moved house and left your job and I don’t care; I just want you to sign the divorce papers.
“He replied: ‘I don’t have them anymore. I’m not going to sign them.
“In the meantime, my health is not good.
“My biggest fear is that l’I die before this is sorted out and he’ll run off with the money my three children should inherit.”
Dawn, who has not written a will, said she is worried Bright could become entitled to some of her possessions, including jewellery, cash and furniture.
Dawn said she joined dating platforms Tinder and Plenty of Fish in 2021, where she met Bright.
According to her, Bright initially introduced himself as a professional in his thirties named Brian Thomas. After they moved their conversations to WhatsApp, he told her that his real name was Bright, that he was a fashion student and that he was in his mid-twenties and from Benin, Nigeria.
Dawn said she forgave him for initially lying about his identity and age because she had fallen in love with him.
She said Bright regularly complimented her during their video calls and made her feel attractive again.
In March 2022, about eight months after they first met online, Dawn travelled to northern Cyprus, where Bright was living on a student visa.
“I know I was a fool, but I was in love,” Dawn said of her decision.
“When I met Bright, he made me feel special and alive.
“He told me I made his heart go ‘boom boom’ and I was the loveliest woman he ever met.
“He made me feel attractive again.”
She added: “I knew he was a bit young. The lies he told me about his name and age should have been two massive red flags.
“But he was romantic and persuasive.”
Dawn and Bright married at a registry office in Nicosia on March 22, 2022. Two of Bright’s Turkish friends reportedly acted as best man and maid of honour.
Their wedding certificate showed that Bright was 27 at the time and described as a student, while Dawn was listed as a 64-year-old single housewife.
Dawn said she initially planned to stay in Cyprus for two weeks but remained for a month after Bright asked her to miss her flight and begged her to marry him.
“I stayed in Cyprus for a month with Bright, but I would not call it a honeymoon. It was supposed to be two weeks, but he asked me to miss my flight, and he begged me to marry him. He said he loved me and I believed him.”
After returning to Dewsbury, Dawn said Bright travelled back to Nigeria to arrange his spouse visa to join her in Britain.
The visa was eventually approved about a year later, and Dawn travelled to Heathrow Airport to welcome her husband.
Dawn said she tried to help Bright settle into life in Britain, while her brother Rory, 72, helped him secure a manufacturing job at a door company.
However, she said Bright later became distant and began making financial demands, telling her that he was in debt because of expenses from their wedding.
Dawn also said he did not contribute financially to their household and regularly sent money to Nigeria.
“He was sending a lot of money back home to Nigeria.
“I got all-new furniture, and he didn’t put a penny towards it. When we went out for dinner, it was usually me picking up the bill.”
The couple eventually separated in October 2023 but reunited six months later after Dawn received a £63,000 payout following complications from a prolapse operation at an NHS hospital.
Looking back, Dawn said she now regrets taking Bright back after receiving the money.
“I should have worried he was only after my money when we got back together.
“Bright’s eyes must have lit up when he found out I had received so much.
“Whenever we went out to the cinema or for a meal, he made sure it was always me paying.
“I know I shouldn’t have taken him back, but I wasn’t happy being on my own again, and he insisted his intentions were honourable – that he had changed.”
The relationship continued to face difficulties, and shortly before Christmas 2024, Dawn went on a £2,000 Caribbean cruise with her brother.
She said Bright became angry because he believed she should have given him the money to help clear his debts.
After she returned from the cruise, Dawn said Bright left the home and never came back.
She believes he is now living in Scotland, where he appears to have started an online clothing business advertised on social media.
Dawn said she believes Bright’s immigration status is one of the reasons he has refused to proceed with the divorce.
“I know I never should have fallen for him in the first place.
“I’m convinced he was never in love with me and just wanted a visa to move to England.
“And it’s because of his cherished spouse visa that he won’t agree to a divorce.
“I know Bright needs to stay in the UK for another two years before he’s entitled to settle permanently – he’s been here three years.
“I’m getting help from the Citizens Advice Bureau, but it’s taking forever because they need to find out where he’s living.
“I just want him out of my life for good.
“Ialso want people to know that if this can happen to me it can happen to anyone.
“I would advise them 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.
“I feel I’m being used.”
