A serial husband who truly believed he had found his 'forever wife' when he met a lady after 8th failed marriages, has been devastated after his hopes of a lasting romance were dashed.
Ron Sheppard and Cristel Marques
69-year-old Britain's most married man, Ron Sheppard, has lost the woman he hoped would be wife No. 9, after he flew in Filipina Cristel Lalec last year to be his bride.
It was gathered that few days after 28-year-old Cristel, was told she couldn’t stay in the UK, she packed her bags and left him.
Ron, from Somerton, Somerset, believes she has run off with another man she had been secretly seeing and has reported her to the police and Border Force.
He said: “I’m devastated by this. I did everything for that girl and she does a runner, I feel like such a mug. But she won’t put me off looking for love – wife No9 is still out there.”
Ron first met Cristel when he lived in Thailand with wife No7 Wan, who was friends with Cristel. They made contact again in 2015 after his marriage to wife No8 Weng hit the rocks.
And Cristel, who is still married to her estranged husband in the Philippines, flew to Britain last year.
Ron, who has Parkinson’s disease, admitted: “We had no love life … because she insisted she was a committed Christian and did not believe in sex before marriage.
“I could respect that but she just became more and more distant. I can’t reach her and she blocked me on Facebook.
“A friend has told me she has met another man since she has been here and is now with him. I am devastated beyond words.”