I left my husband for a holiday romance but he broke up with me. I found love with my new toyboy.
Being dumped and left heartbroken by a young Egyptian man hasn’t stopped Joanna Girling from finding love with another man. And this time, she’s convinced it will last.
Joanna, 49, insists her love for Hysm Fygo, 41, is stronger than ever. She says the feeling is mutual, despite the couple facing disapproval from her family and having to overcome obstacles to be together.
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The former Tesco worker says she and Hysm have proven their love is real and she is so confident about their future that Joanna, who turns 50 next year, has not given up hope they will have a child together.
“Our love is real – and will last forever,” Joanna emphasizes.
“We have proven all the skeptics wrong and every setback we encounter brings us closer to the solution than ever before.
“My family doesn’t want to talk to me. But I have the whole Hysm family, and they love me, so that’s the most important thing. If people can’t be happy for us, then we can do without them.”
Joanna left her British husband after meeting her first boyfriend Hassan Kahlied while on holiday in Egypt in 2018.
Sneaking to meet the waiter
She confessed that she sneaked out to meet the waiter while her husband was sleeping in their hotel, and later broke off her marriage when they returned to the UK in July.
She says, “Our marriage had been on the rocks for a while. We both knew it was over.”
She soon flew back to Egypt to be with her lover, but Hassan, who is in his 20s, later dumped her after spending all her money.
Joanna says: “Hassan texted me saying he loved me and missed me, so I went to Egypt to meet him – but after a month the money ran out. He made me buy him aftershave and cognac and all sorts of designer clothes.
“He told me to go back to England and continue working, but on my way back he told me I was fat and ugly and to stop messaging him. I got the message at the airport and was devastated. I had to borrow money from a friend to get home.”
Described as ‘fat and ugly’
Joanna, from Kings Lynn, Norfolk, was staying with her brother in the UK and returned to her old job in a supermarket. But she found herself missing Egypt and when a previously booked flight came up in May 2019, she made a life-changing decision.
She says: “I wasn’t happy in the UK so I decided to move to Egypt to start a new life. I definitely wasn’t looking for love. I just needed a fresh start.”
Joanna got a job as a kindergarten teacher in Hurghada, Egypt, and settled there.
One evening she met a friend and they visited a Hysm herb and spice shop.
She says: “He invited us to his shop for a drink, which is common there, everyone is very polite and welcoming. But I felt a spark with Hysm. I was hesitant to get involved, especially after what I had been through, but I felt he was different. We just clicked.”
After her friend returned home, Joanna and Hysm shared a cab ride back to her apartment—and from there, they were never apart again.
But Joanna says that after her heartbreak with Hassan, she found it difficult to trust Hysm at the beginning of their relationship.
She says: “I kept pushing him away because I had lost trust in men because of what had happened in the past. It was still in the back of my mind.”
HOW TO RECOGNIZE A ROM CON
ROMANCE fraud expert Lisa Mills from the charity Victim support reveals the four signs of a scammer to Nikki Watkins.
EARLY DECLARATIONS OF LOVE
EARLY and dramatic declarations of love are a common tactic used by scammers to gain trust and deceive you into developing strong feelings for them.
Once you are under their spell, they will try to manipulate you into giving them money or personal information.
KEEPING YOUR ROMANCE UNDER THE RUPTURE
BE extremely wary of anyone who asks you to keep your relationship a secret. They may want to isolate you from your family to make you more vulnerable.
REQUESTS TO SEE YOUR DRIVERS LICENSE
NEVER give out sensitive information or copies of important documents such as your driver’s license and passport. They can duplicate them to obtain credit.
USING AI TO MISLEAD YOU
More and more fraudsters are using AI to make you believe they are a real person.
If their voice sounds distorted or their eyes and mouth move unnaturally during a video call, it could be a sign that the person you’re talking to isn’t real.
“Hysm was so patient and kind. He kept coming back and saying trust me, that I want to be with you – eventually I gave up pushing him away because I knew something was up but I was still scared.
“I let him in and said to myself, ‘I have to try to trust him.’”
Now they have been together for five years and, after Hysm proposed, the two are planning their wedding. But it proves to be a challenge.
So much paperwork
“To get married there is so much paperwork from the British embassy. We have to go to Cairo which is expensive. I also have to leave the country to renew my visa.
“We are saving, but we have had many setbacks. Hysm lost his shop and now works outside the city in another shop. I work full-time as a private English teacher.
“We don’t spend a lot of time together, but when we do, it’s very precious. We might go out for dinner or enjoy a day at the beach.”
The couple has adopted three dogs: Billy, Coffee and Capri.
“We love our three dogs, our little family is so happy,” says Joanna.
“Our dream is to save enough to buy another store and get married.
“We even want a baby, although it’s probably too late now.”
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