WHEN Katherine Jones’ fiance returned from his stag do she knew something was very wrong.
But even with his ‘icy cold’ disposition she could never have imagined that he would end things – just a week before they were due to say ‘I do.’
The 36-year-old was due to tie the knot with her partner of six and a half years in July when he told her he didn’t want to go through with the wedding.
Heartbroken, Katherine was at a loss over what to do. The two had planned to exchange vows at a lavish villa in Italy, and had already paid for everything.
But despite being completely “devastated” by the break up, businesswoman Katherine decided to go on with the celebrations.
So, she and 30 of her closest friends and family jetted off to the idyllic Italian venue where they spent the day getting glammed up and sipping on Aperol spritz.
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Speaking on Good Morning Britain last week, Katherine opened up about her shocking split.
“I was devastated when he told me the night before the decision was made, but I tossed and turned all night and just decided there and then, well, it carries on, it has to,” she says.
Katherine and her partner had been together for more than six years. They shared a home and two cats. She said the first five years of their union were “great” and they were “fully in love”.
But things took a turn a year and a half ago when she hit a “very hard time in her life”. The couple, who both own their own businesses, were both working around the clock and Katherine experienced a string of bad luck from a “fraudulent investor” to “staff breaking my trust.”
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“For that period I felt like he wasn’t there for me and didn’t help me through it,” she said.
“I felt like I was alone. Previous to that, I’d spent a lot of time helping him through his dark times or difficulties.”
Concerned about the situation, she raised the issue with her then partner who admitted he wasn’t happy with the relationship. However, after unravelling their troubles and with six months to go before their wedding, they agreed to work on things.
She added: “I also knew the relationship wasn’t the way it once was but I also thought, we have been together six years so it’s kind of normal for it to be slightly less affectionate and we are both very stressed with our jobs.”
Confident that they could make it work, the couple travelled to Italy to see the wedding venue, where they did a wine tasting and toured the beautiful surroundings by bike which convinced Katherine that they were “back on track.”
After her partner’s stag do, she then felt a sudden shift, with her partner being “cold” towards her.
She explained: “I don’t know if something happened there but he all of a sudden turned icy cold”.
As time passed, things went from bad to worse until eventually, during dinner, he admitted he didn’t think they should go through with the wedding
“I was shattered,” Katherine, from Liverpool, admitted. “I was tossing and turning in bed considering begging but then it just hit me, absolutely not, I’m not going to beg for you… It was a horrendous realisation in that moment.”
Afterwards, her partner left for work for three days, leaving her alone with her mother and three sisters to “pick up the pieces”
With just a week to go, Katherine felt there was “no option” to abandon everything that had already been paid for.
The morning after she was dumped, she frantically rang her mother, who helped by telling the guests about what had happened – even informing the mother of the groom of the split.
Her ex-partner’s family were not invited as Katherine felt it would only have reminded her of her ex and made her more upset.
With the party set to go ahead, the jilted bride jetted off to Italy where she made the most of the day with friends and family.
“I was just trying to make light of a tough situation, I would never allow a man to bring me completely down,” she said.
“Even if he broke my heart, I’m still going to back up the next day. You’re never going to keep me in bed crying over a man.”
Instead of slipping into her official wedding dress as planned, Katherine opted to face the day in a white lace gown, which had originally been intended for her evening attire.
The three-day event, which involved a dinner, formal ceremony and pool party, saw her mother and sister reading out speeches celebrating her happy upbringing and career, with no mention of the failed nuptials.
“They were just very much bigging me up and trying to make me feel happy,” she said.
She added: “Two things can be true at once. I was heartbroken and I was devastated. I’m up and down. It helps having all the support around.”
She made the most of the celebrations and even took her mother on a “mummy-moon” around the Amalfi coast.
A series of tongue-in-cheek videos shared to her TikTok have since gone viral, one of Katherine dancing alongside the words “pov: the groom didn’t make it to the wedding” having received a whopping 11million views.
Another clip of the jilted bride having her makeup done also raked in several million views. Katherine was seen sipping on a glass of Aperol spritz, the caption reading, “When you’re getting ready for your wedding but the saxophones keep getting louder (spoiler the groom didn’t attend).”
The story has become so well known that the Mayor of Val d’Orcia, where the wedding was situated, reached out, asking her to come back soon. Others even sent messages offering up their homes as accommodation.
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Now back in the UK, she is putting the pieces together after a “horrendous” heartbreak.
She added: “Each day, you don’t know what’s coming, some days it hits you like a ton of bricks and you’re crying again and some days you’re laughing your head off with your friends knowing it was the best thing for you, knowing you have dodged a bullet.”