Woman, 35, whose fiancé died on their wedding day, opens up about discovering he cheated on her

21 May 2024, 06:10

Kaitlin Palmieri lost her husband-to-be the day of their wedding
Kaitlin Palmieri lost her husband-to-be the day of their wedding. Picture: Kaitlin Palmieri/Instagram

By Flaminia Luck

A 35-year-old woman has opened up after discovering her late husband-to-be, who died on the morning of their wedding, had been cheating on her. 

Listen to this article

Loading audio...

Kaitlin Palmieri, from New York, was devastated when her fiancé Eric, 33, tragically died from a heart attack on the morning that they were meant to get married in August 2020.

The pair had been together for more than two years after she met him on a dating app.

However, in a traumatic plot twist, Ms Palmieri later found out he had been cheating on her on what would have been her late partners 37th birthday.

Ms Palmieri discovered Eric has passed the morning of the wedding
Ms Palmieri discovered Eric has passed the morning of the wedding. Picture: Kaitlin Palmieri/Instagram

Kaitlin discovered the truth after coming across an Instagram tribute dedicated to a man who had died with the same name and birthday as Eric, she told the New York Post.

It turned out this woman had also been dating Eric at the same time as Kaitlin, having met on a dating app back in 2019.

She said: "It felt like I'd been emotionally trapped and I couldn't run anywhere. I had so much frustration and nowhere to put it. He was gone.

"I was desperate for someone to tell me it wasn't true but in my heart I knew that it was and I wanted to burst."

Read more: Gove to warn anti-Semitism is ‘canary in the coal mine’ as UK risks ‘descending into darkness’

Kaitlin discovered the truth after coming across an Instagram post
Eric asked Kaitlin to marry him in Central Park. Picture: Kaitlin Palmieri/Instagram

Not wanting to believe it was her late partner, Ms Palmieri reached out to the woman.

The other woman shared screenshots of her conversations with Eric, dating back to seven months before he asked Kaitlin to marry him.

Kaitlin said the messages the two shared were lewd in nature, with the prospective groom sending his last sexual message to the other woman only seven days before the wedding.

She was stunned realising that Eric, was not the man she thought she knew.

Read more: Rishi Sunak to announce new AI technology able to locate cancer 2.5x quicker than doctors alone

Ms Palmieri is now rebuilding her life
Ms Palmieri is now rebuilding her life. Picture: Kaitlin Palmieri

In a tragic twist, Kaitlin revealed that this was not the first time she'd survived a lover, with her previous boyfriend Mike dying in a freak accident in 2015.

She said Mike fell unconscious after he slipped into water while they were out celebrating her 30th birthday.

He died six days later. Kaitlin said Eric had been 'wonderful' in helping her come to terms with Mike's death.

After years of grieving the loss of Eric, Kaitlin's grief slowly turned into anger, which is shared by her parents, who are both in their seventies.

She relocated to her native Long Island for support, ditching the apartment she'd shared with Eric in the Astoria neighbourhood of Queens, NYC. 

She now struggles with PTSD, anxiety and depression as a result of her fiancé's betrayal and along with parental support, she is seeking therapy.

She hopes opening up will help other women facing similarly difficult situations and said that even if someone has passed away, you don't have to "automatically" forgive them for hurting you.

More Latest News

See more More Latest News

File photo dated 12/02/25 of Health Secretary Wes Streeting, he has said sending crack teams of top doctors to hospital trusts in areas with high levels of people who do not have jobs is cutting waiting lists, Wes Streeting has said.

Streeting hits out at those ‘manufacturing rebellion’ as he refuses to confirm Government U-turn on disability benefits

Alice da Silva Aguiar was one of the three children killed.

Commemorative playground to be built in primary school in honour of Southport victims

Foreign Office staff enjoyed the Nassau Yacht Club in Barbados, in January 2023, spending £920.

Civil servants splurge on Barbados yacht club trip with taxpayer-backed credit card

Met Police sued after reinstating 999 call handler who mock Sarah Everard and called rape victim a ‘slut’

Met Police sued after reinstating 999 call handler who 'mocked Sarah Everard' and called rape victim a ‘slut’

At least 50 dead after fire rips through nightclub in North Macedonia

At least 50 dead after fire rips through nightclub in North Macedonia

FILE - Britain's Prince Harry leaves after attending an Invictus Games Foundation 10th Anniversary Service of Thanksgiving at St Paul's Cathedral in London, Wednesday, May 8, 2024.

Bombshell US court ruling orders Prince Harry's visa application files be made public by Tuesday

This image made from video by NASA shows astronauts waving after the SpaceX capsule docked with the International Space Station, Sunday, March 16, 2025. Top row from left: Nick Hague, Alexander Gorbunov, Suni Williams, Alexei Ovchinin.

Over the moon: SpaceX capsule docks with ISS as stranded NASA astronauts welcome replacement crew

F1 Grand Prix Of Australia

Lando Norris wins a wet Australian Grand Prix despite last minute charge from Max Verstappen

Disabled people to be given right to try working without risk of losing benefits in welfare reforms.

Disabled people to be given 'right to try' work without risk of losing benefits

Britain's Prince William, Patron of the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU), and Kate, the Princess of Wales, Patron of the Rugby Football Union (RFU), pose for a photo with Leif Thobroe

Royal split: William and Kate cheer on rival sides at Wales take on England in Six Nations clash

Wes Streeting MP - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care - in Downing Street 12th March 2025 - the day before NHS England was abolished.

Scrapping NHS England is ‘beginning, not the end’ says Streeting, vowing to cut hundreds of quangos

A view of the pollution caused by garbage and various wastes following the thousands of Palestinians displaced under the ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel have returned to the northern Gaza Strip in Jabalia, Gaza on March 13, 2025.

US rejects Hamas’s ‘entirely impractical’ demands to implement ceasefire as talks reach impasse

Antoine Dupont and Gregory Alldritt of France lift the Six Nations Trophy after their team's victory during the Guinness Six Nations 2025 match between France and Scotland at Stade de France

France win Six Nations after beating Scotland, shattering England title hopes

The US has launched large strikes in Yemen as Donald Trump promised "overwhelming lethal force" until the Houthis cease attacks on shipping.

US launches strikes on Yemen as Trump promises 'overwhelming lethal force' against Houthis

Rich people are getting married at a way higher rate than those with lower incomes as the ‘marriage gap’ between rich and poor hits a record 51%.

'Only rich people are getting married', new research suggests, as ‘marriage gap’ widens

"I ran, not to rip the joey away from its mother, but from fear she might attack me," Jones, who also uses the name Samantha Strable, posted on social media.

American influencer apologises after being threatened with deportation for snatching baby wombat from mum