Single mother who was 'forced to head straight to foodbank' after returning from two-week Cyprus getaway says she splurged £1,000 on a holiday romance with a man who 'used her and let her pay for everything'

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  • Francesca Emmott was left distraught when her children ordered a takeaway

A struggling single mother claims she was forced to use a foodbank after splurging £1,000 on a holiday romance – only for her ‘skint’ lobster-chomping boyfriend to ‘ghost’ her once she returned to the UK.

Francesca Emmott said she had spent weeks saving up before flying out to Cyprus for a two-week holiday with her two kids and parents last month. 

But within the first three days of the trip, her new beau begged to come join them. As they had been on several cinema and restaurant dates, she decided to take the plunge. 

The lovestruck 32-year-old old paid almost £300 for the man to come and join her but soon regretted it.

She claimed he turned up and said he was ‘skint’, meaning she had to pay for ‘everything’ from cocktails to fresh lobster.

Francesca Emmott said she had spent weeks saving up before flying out to Cyprus for a two-week holiday with her two kids and parents last month

Francesca Emmott said she had spent weeks saving up before flying out to Cyprus for a two-week holiday with her two kids and parents last month 

Thousands had been moved reading online of how Francesca said she had even struggled to scrape together £18.50 for a large margherita pizza. The delivery driver felt 'heart broken' for the family, so decided to leave them £40 a few days later

Thousands had been moved reading online of how Francesca said she had even struggled to scrape together £18.50 for a large margherita pizza. The delivery driver felt ‘heart broken’ for the family, so decided to leave them £40 a few days later 

He watched on as she borrowed money from her parents, her children’s father and friends until she had blown an extra £1,000 on the holiday she said felt ‘like a honeymoon’.  

By the time she returned home, she had to resort to using a food bank just a week later after claiming she was plunged into ‘a bad situation’ and left with ‘a lot of debt’. 

Following the holiday, the man also had stopped speaking to her, telling friends Francesca was ‘not his type’.

Thousands had been moved reading online of how Francesca said she had even struggled to scrape together £18.50 for a large margherita pizza that her daughter innocently ordered without her knowledge.

READ HERE: Struggling single mother who was ‘forced to head straight to foodbank’ when she returned from two-week Cyprus holiday reveals how ‘kind-hearted’ pizza delivery man gave her free meal and £40 cash after her daughter, 11, secretly ordered a large margherita

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Unaware of the 11-year-old’s purchase, Francesca broke down in tears when she opened the door to the delivery driver from their favourite restaurant Pronto Pizza in Colne, Lancashire.

She promised to pay back the restaurant the next day but the driver, moved by her tears, spoke to his boss and told the mother-of-two not to worry. 

‘We normally get delivery after we’ve come back from holiday, but I hadn’t turned around to Ella to tell her we were struggling. I wouldn’t want to put my financial situation on the kids,’ she previously said. 

Francesca added: ‘I was crying my eyes out [on the phone]. I said ‘I’m not gonna rip you off’ and promised I’d get them £20 tomorrow.

‘The delivery man gave me a hug and said ‘don’t worry about it, I’ve got problems as well’ then left.

‘Our letterbox doesn’t work, but I’d left the living room window open on Monday.

‘I saw a note on the windowsill and it said: ‘To Mummy and family’.

‘I opened it and I just cried. My daughter cried too. I just couldn’t believe it. It was so kind. It’s mad, I’ve never had anyone do that for me before.

Days later, the 32-year-old received another unexpected delivery when a note containing £40 was dropped through the window by the driver.

The note from the delivery driver read: ‘Here is something for you and your family. It’s not much, but from my heart, that day broke me. Hope your daughter enjoyed the pizza.’ 

He has since said the family’s story had ‘broken his heart’ as he has children himself.

The distraught single mother promised the owner she would scrape together £18.50 to pay for the pizza the next day

The distraught single mother promised the owner she would scrape together £18.50 to pay for the pizza the next day 

The mother-of-two (pictured with her daughter Emma) has spoken out warning other women of the dangers of trusting men too quickly - urging people to 'go with your gut instinct'

The mother-of-two (pictured with her daughter Emma) has spoken out warning other women of the dangers of trusting men too quickly – urging people to ‘go with your gut instinct’ 

Francesca has now insisted she would not have been in that situation had she not spent money paying for her boyfriend to come on their family holiday.  

The mother-of-two has now spoken out warning other women of the dangers of trusting men too quickly – urging people to ‘go with your gut instinct’. 

Francesca, who is currently studying psychology at the Open University, said: ‘He brought nothing but I just felt so happy to see him. I ran up to him when he arrived at the airport.

‘I was feeling pretty lovestruck. It was a big holiday romance. Going out for dinner every night was so romantic, he was feeding me lobster. It was like a honeymoon.

‘He was amazing with the kids. He spent more time with them than with me. He was playing in the pool, taking them out for walks with my little boy in the pram.

‘I paid for everything: breakfast, lunches, teas, going out and having drinks. Even though it was all financially on me, it was amazing.

‘We were on the beach and I’d run out of money. He watched me ring a family member to ask for more money.’

She said she had invited the man out on the trip after her new love-interest had met up with a former girlfriend, who she said had become very jealous and angry. 

Worried about his safety, Francesca booked him onto the earliest flight out to join her and her family abroad. 

The delivery driver was able to contact the restaurant owner of Pronto Pizza in Colne, Lancashire and explain the ordeal

The delivery driver was able to contact the restaurant owner of Pronto Pizza in Colne, Lancashire and explain the ordeal 

Since sharing her story online, Francesca has found the driver and met up with him for a coffee to express her gratitude

Since sharing her story online, Francesca has found the driver and met up with him for a coffee to express her gratitude

Francesca said: ‘We’ve been going to Cyprus for 17 years; my mum loves it there. It’s almost like a second home.

‘We were so excited to go, the kids were just ecstatic.He started messaging me and he’d been saying ‘I’m really missing you’.

‘I paid for his flights as he said he was skint.’

After returning home, she dropped him off at his mother’s house and claims she has not heard from him since. 

She said: ‘The next day we went to his mum’s and spent a bit of time there. I then came home and I never heard anything off him again.

‘He ghosted me after that, blocked and deleted me.

‘My daughter recorded him arriving at the airport. Now, when I look back at the video and watch it, I can kind of see his eyes rolling a bit.

‘He hasn’t offered me anything. He just got a free holiday out of me. His mum even rang me crying to say ‘I’m sorry for what he’s done to you’.

‘People have told me he’s said I’m not what he’s looking for, I’m not his type.’

She went on to warn other women: ‘Always go with your gut feeling. I was on the phone to him beforehand and I said ‘Am I being a mug by paying for your flights to come out here?’.

‘I had this horrible gut feeling, but he said ‘No, of course you’re not’.

‘If I’d have just gone with my gut feeling, none of this would have happened and I’d never have been left in such a financial state. Me and the kids would have been fine.

‘I’d say, take your time. Just don’t rush anything.’

Francesca’s holiday romance was approached for comment.






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