Husband of brain damaged mum ‘having an affair with her carer’
A HUSBAND is having an affair with a woman said to have been a carer for his seriously brain-damaged wife.
Gregg Ormondroyd, 31, began a relationship with Anne Robinson months after doctors allowed his wife Donna to return home.
The mother-of-six cannot walk or talk and is confined to bed in a vegetative state.
But Miss Robinson, 32, is said to have quit her job after growing close to Mr Ormondroyd and has now moved into the family home.
Rather than leading separate lives, all three adults – and four children – reportedly live under the same roof in Bradford. Mrs Ormondroyd’s world changed for ever two years ago when she collapsed at home. Paramedics said she was ‘dead for 70 minutes’ before they succeeded in reviving her. Suffering massive brain damage, she has been unable to do anything for herself and needs 24-hour care.
Mr Ormondroyd raised £10,000 for a new property to be adapted so she could leave a nursing home and live there with him and their children. But he is now said to have upset his wife’s family by falling in love again so quickly, and they have reportedly instructed lawyers to act in her interests.
A family friend told The Sun: ‘Donna only got home in March so it’s all happened very quickly. It is going on under the noses of Donna and her children and Donna is not in a state to challenge it.
‘They knew Gregg would have to move on eventually but it’s how soon he’s moved on that’s upsetting.’ He has announced his new relationship on Facebook, posting photos of himself with Miss Robinson. Mrs Ormondroyd, 37, who also has two teenage children from a previous relationship, collapsed at home in August 2015 – a year after she had married.
Scans revealed catastrophic brain damage and doctors told her husband she wouldn’t survive. Mrs Ormondroyd defied medical opinion by being able to breathe via a tracheotomy, but was unable to move her limbs or respond to anyone. Writing online about his wife’s condition before she was allowed home, Mr Ormondroyd said he disagreed with the diagnosis that she was in a constant vegetitive state. ‘I know my wife is in there,’ he said.
‘Donna has gone from being an active hands-on mum to not being able to move at all.’ He added: ‘This is by far the hardest thing I have ever had to do. As a father to watch my soulmate not be able to
react to our four young children is pain beyond words.’ Their children, now aged seven, five, four and two, were delighted to have their mother at home, even if she cannot communicate with them.
Speaking after his wife returned to the family property, Mr Ormondroyd said: ‘This is the end of one chapter and the start of another one. Nineteen months we have waited for this, for her to come home and be with the kids. I have been to hell and back on more than one occasion. I have had to fight so hard for this. Finally all the hard work has paid off.’
Mr Ormondroyd, a former bus driver, said his wife had shown a ‘slight improvement’ and was able to move her head from side to side. He continued to make sure she received the best care at home. Arranging help is how he is thought to have met health worker Miss Robinson.The result has been a highly unusual love triangle and yesterday Mr Ormondroyd indicated he was unhappy with reports about his relationship.
Speaking at the family home, he said: ‘There are people who don’t know about my life looking from the outside in.
‘I’ve no interest in speaking to anyone to be honest, not at this moment in time. I’ve got my babies and my wife to look after. My wife is seriously ill, so it’s not a great situation. It’s hard enough as it is without all this going on as well.’
Commenting on reports of his affair, he added: ‘I can hazard a guess at where it has come from, but I don’t really want to get into it to be honest. The things they are making out are not true.’