I'm no homewrecker, insists tearful Ukrainian refugee who ran off with host after a week
23 May 2022, 05:43 | Updated: 23 May 2022, 12:44
A Ukrainian refugee who ran off with her host and sponsor has tearfully insisted she is "not a homewrecker" and said she never planned to "take" him from his partner.
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Sofiia Karkadym moved in with Tony Garnett and his partner Lorna after they offered to sponsor her stay in the UK.
But 10 days after she arrived, Lorna, 28, accused Ms Karkadym of trying to 'steal' her partner of eight years.
The 22-year-old, originally from Kyiv, left - but Mr Garnett, 29, went with her.
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In an interview with The Sun, Ms Karkadym has defended herself, saying: "I am not a homewrecker... I never thought or planned to go into their home and take Tony from Lorna."
She said Lorna was "two-faced", saying unkind things about her to Mr Garnett - not realising her English was good enough to understand - before being "perfectly nice" to her face.
The Ukrainian added that she believed the couple's relationship was in jeopardy before she arrived in the UK, and said nothing happened until they left their home.
She also hit back at claims - some from her own family - that she is putting off families from hosting Ukrainian refugees, saying: "Every UK family will now think 'I can't take in a refugee because she will take my husband from me'.
"It's more about me, Tony and Lorna."
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Mr Garnett previously told the paper that his taking in of a Ukrainian refugee "began with a simple desire from me to do the right thing".
He said he had "discovered a connection" with the IT worker "like I've never had before".
The couple are in the process of finding a new home together.
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Lorna and Mr Garnett have two children together.
On Sunday Lorna told The Sun she had "reservations" about taking in a refugee but "decided it was the right thing to do".
"And this is how Sofiia repaid me," she said.
She said Ms Karkadym "set her sites" on her partner "from the start".
"The life I knew is shattered," she said.
