Scots Shirley Valentine’s warning to others hoping to find love
A SCOT who lost everything after a Shirley Valentine-style romance in Sri Lanka has warned others to beware of seeking love in the sun.
Diane De Zoysa, 60, thought she had found true romance when she married a hotel worker less than half her age after meeting him on holiday.
But after selling her house and leaving Scotland, her new husband spent her £90,000 life savings.
She was unable to leave the marital home unaccompanied and finally found out he had also married another, younger woman. He was eventually killed in a gangland shooting.
She told the Scottish Mail on Sunday: ‘I wish I had done things differently.
‘I would warn other women in their forties or fifties going out there, you will probably be flattered by the attention but try not to get involved. It’s the biggest mistake I’ve ever made in my life.’
Mrs De Zoysa, originally from Musselburgh, East Lothian, met hotel worker Priyanjana De Zoysa, then 20, in 2011 and married him a year later.
She said: ‘I know I am overweight and I am not great looking, so I was touched that he seemed to care.’
Of her husband’s murder, she said: ‘I don’t want to say I’m glad he’s dead – but I don’t miss him. He and his family made my life hell. I didn’t know how I was going to get out of the situation. I even contemplated suicide.’
She managed to flee the country last week with the help of friends.
She said: ‘I know people are laughing at me. I’ve been called all sorts of things, including bloody stupid. I’m just glad to be back now and safe.’