I’m a single mum who’s turned to food banks after spending £1k on my bloke’s holiday – when we got home I was ghosted
A SINGLE mum claims she's been left using food banks after splurging £1,000 on a holiday romance - only for the 'skint' lobster-chomping bloke to 'ghost' her once back in the UK.
Francesca Emmott had been saving up little by little before she flew out to Cyprus on a two-week holiday with her two kids and parents last month.
But a new-beau from back home began begging to come and join her just three days into the trip and since they'd already been on several cinema and restaurant dates together she decided to take the plunge.
The lovestruck 32-year-old says she paid almost £300 in flights for the cheeky Romeo to come and join her - but soon regretted it and realised he took her for a 'mug'.
Francesca claims the lothario turned up and said he was 'skint' and she ended up paying for 'everything' - including cocktails and fresh lobster.
Even when he saw that she had run out of money, Francesca tells how her new partner watched as she called family members to borrow cash - until she had blown an extra £1,000 on her trip.
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By the time she returned home, the struggling single mum was forced to resort to using food banks just a week later.
Making matters worse, after reportedly being ghosted by the bloke, she heard through pals he'd said she's 'not his type' anyway.
The mum hit headlines earlier this week as she struggled to even scrape together £20 for a pizza that her daughter innocently ordered without her knowledge - prompting the delivery man to take pity on her and leave her £40.
Now sharing her story, the mum-of-two hopes to warn other women of the dangers of trusting men too quickly and urges people to 'go with your gut instinct'.
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Francesca, from Colne, Lancashire, said: "He brought nothing but I just felt so happy to see him. I ran up to him when he arrived at the airport.
"I was feeling pretty lovestruck. It was a big holiday romance.
"Going out for dinner every night was so romantic, he was feeding me lobster. It was like a honeymoon.
"He was amazing with the kids. He spent more time with them than with me. He was playing in the pool, taking them out for walks with my little boy in the pram.
"I paid for everything: breakfast, lunches, teas, going out and having drinks.
"Even though it was all financially on me, it was amazing.
"We were on the beach and I'd run out of money. He watched me ring a family member to ask for more money.
"He turned and looked at me and said: 'So, is he sending you more money then?'
"I borrowed money from my parents, from my children's dad, from my friends all just to try to keep us going and feeding us all.
"I was just a mug. I was being used."
The mum-of-two had been saving up and booked the holiday just three weeks before going.
Just days into her holiday, Francesca claims her new love-interest declared he'd met up with an ex-girlfriend who became very jealous and angry.
Worried about his safety, Francesca booked him onto the earliest flight out to join her and her family abroad.
Francesca said: "We've been going to Cyprus for 17 years; my mum loves it there. It's almost like a second home.
"We were so excited to go, the kids were just ecstatic.
"He started messaging me and he'd been saying 'I'm really missing you'.
"I paid for his flights as he said he was skint."
Francesca paid for not just the flights out to Cyprus, but back to the UK, where they cuddled up in bed on arriving home.
It was only a day later when she dropped him off at his mum's house that he reportedly 'ghosted' her and has allegedly since told friends that Francesca 'isn't his type'.
Francesca said: "He got on the flight home with us and got the same transfers. I sorted everything out for him.
"He came home to my house, we landed at five o'clock in the morning. He came and stayed in bed with me.
"The next day we went to his mum's and spent a bit of time there. I then came home and I never heard anything off him again.
"He ghosted me after that, blocked and deleted me.
"My daughter recorded him arriving at the airport. Now, when I look back at the video and watch it, I can kind of see his eyes rolling a bit.
"He hasn't offered me anything. He just got a free holiday out of me.
"His mum even rang me crying to say 'I'm sorry for what he's done to you'.
"People have told me he's said I'm not what he's looking for, I'm not his type."
Francesca is now sharing her story in the hopes to warn others of trusting men too quickly.
The mum said: "Always go with your gut feeling. I was on the phone to him beforehand and I said 'Am I being a mug by paying for your flights to come out here?'.
"I had this horrible gut feeling, but he said 'No, of course you're not'.
"If I'd have just gone with my gut feeling, none of this would have happened and I'd never have been left in such a financial state.
"Me and the kids would have been fine.
"I'd say, take your time. Just don't rush anything."
Francesca's holiday romance was approached for comment.
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