Man travels 500 miles to meet beauty queen and 'future wife' - before discovering sad truth
A lovestruck man was left dumbfounded after a 500-mile journey to meet a beauty queen ended in the discovery that he had been catfished.
Michel, a 76 year old from Belgium, believed he was on his way to meet his ' soulmate ', the renowned model Sophie Vouzeland. However, upon arriving at her residence in Saint-Julien, France, he was met by her husband, Fabien, instead.
The smitten senior announced himself as her " future husband", only to be shocked when the man at the door said: "Well, I'm the current one."
Michel had been under the impression that he was communicating with the 2007 Miss France runner-up via WhatsApp.
Convinced of their bond, Michel had even transferred a whopping £25,000 as a loan to someone he thought was Sophie, reports the Mirror.
The couple took to social media to share a poignant video of their encounter with Michel, hoping to raise awareness about romance fraud. In the footage, a disheartened Michel admits: "I think she played a dirty trick on me. I am an imbecile."
He proceeded to show Fabien the messages they had exchanged. "My wife, no, it's the fake accounts," Fabien clarified. "You have to be very careful."
The video was uploaded to Instagram with a caption expressing sympathy for Michel: "I feel so sorry for this man. Watch out for fake accounts. I'm sharing this video to show you it's real and to be vigilant! Take care of yourself."
Sophie, who is expecting a baby with Fabien, expressed that the incident "hurts my heart". The scam has since sparked reactions on social media, with users finding it alarming that their address was known.
One individual warned: "Let us all be vigilant! Fake accounts and scams suck."
Another sympathised: "Poor Sophie in the middle of this being pregnant. Fingers crossed this doesn't happen again and ends well. Cheer up to both of you."
Grateful for the support, Sophie replied in the comments: "Thank you, it's not easy."
A third shared their astonishment: "Oh crazy what a story! Poor gentleman. It's horrible to know that there are still people scamming people. I hope it won't happen again and that you can live your life peacefully."
One more person highlighted the risks of online exposure: "The danger of social networks. But I'm surprised how he could get your address. It's absolutely not normal."
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