My groom was gay!
Vicky Kenna's groom was gay
Thursday 21st February 2008
Lying on the four-poster bed in my basque and stockings, I let out a wail.
'How could he?'
It was my wedding night, but my new husband, Chris Kenna, 25, was nowhere to be seen.
'I'll be up in a few minutes,' he'd said as I'd headed up to our honeymoon suite at the Green Dragon Hotel in Hereford. It was just after midnight and our guests had started leaving.
'Don't be long,' I'd said, seductively batting my eyelashes.
Two hours on though, my passion had turned to rage. Where the hell was he?
We'd first met in December 2001, in Herford, Germany, where I lived and Chris was a Lance Corporal in the Royal Signals. My dad, Keiron Prothero, 56, had been in the army there, too, so I was used to seeing the soldiers who hung around the local bars.
With his dark skin and devastating smile, Chris was by far the best looking. He's out of my league, I thought. I was 20 and a single mum to 21-month-old Kyra. But Chris wooed me with flowers and compliments.
When we moved in together after eight months, Chris couldn't keep his hands off me. So it was no surprise when I fell pregnant in March 2004. He was only 21, a year younger than me. But he was thrilled at the prospect of becoming a dad.
When I was seven months gone, Chris proposed. I was ecstatic. In December 2004, he was there at Mathilden Hospital in Herford, as I gave birth to baby Jerome. And, at first, he seemed like the perfect dad — changing nappies and doing night feeds.
But after a couple of weeks, the novelty of having a baby seemed to have worn off.
'I'm going clubbing,' he'd announce, before heading off with his mates. Tired and busy, at first I didn't notice how often Chris was going out, or the fact that we hadn't made love since Jerome's birth.
But by June 2005, we were still barely having sex, and Chris was off clubbing two or three nights a week.
'Is there another woman?' I asked, worried.
'Of course not,' Chris snapped. 'We're getting married, aren't we?'
True — we'd set the date for 1 April 2006. But as the day drew nearer and Chris and I moved to Hereford, he still kept going out with the lads.
'Why?' I'd ask, irritated.
'Stop trying to control my life!' he'd snap back.
I backed off and hoped he'd get it out of his system. But now, here I was, sobbing, convinced he'd gone clubbing on our wedding night. I was right. When he finally stumbled in at 6am, I went berserk. But Chris was too drunk to even care.
I stormed home to my mum, Bianca Prothero, 54, who was looking after Jerome and Kyra, and barely spoke to Chris for the rest of the day. But, of course, I forgave him. I had to. We'd just got married.
A month on, he came home with a computer. Now, instead of going out, he started spending most nights tapping away on it. At least he was at home. But a few weeks later, I noticed that whenever I came into the room, he'd click off the computer screen.
'I'm really worried Chris is seeing another woman,' I confided to my best friend, Steffi Breer, 26.
'Surely not,' she said. 'You've only been married three months.'
But we were growing further and further apart.
Chris started going out clubbing again. And whenever he was
home, he was hunched over that damn computer.
Then, in August 2006, we had some scary news.
'I've been posted to Iraq,' Chris announced.
I was heartbroken. But it turned out to be the best thing that could have happened to us.
'I miss you so much,' Chris would blub down the phone.
He wrote every few days, saying the same thing.
So when he came back home to England in November 2006, things were much better. He still liked going out, but we'd also cuddle up on the settee, watching our favourite Soldier Soldier DVDs or The Osbournes. Even so, in December 2006, when I noticed he'd left his email account open while he was at work, I couldn't resist looking.
Just to put my mind at rest, I thought, clicking the first email. But what I read changed my life forever.
Really want to see you again. Last night was AMAZING! Call me ASAP.
He was cheating on me!
But that wasn't the worst of it. My eyes darted to the name at the bottom of the email. Matt xxx.
'Matt?' I gasped.
Chris can't be gay. I thought. Can he?
Pretending to be Chris, I emailed Matt and asked for his number.
He was gobsmacked when I rang and told him who I was.
'Did you know Chris was married with two children?' I seethed.
'I'd never have slept with him if I had,' he replied, horrified.
So I had proof my Chris had been unfaithful with another bloke. I was shocked to my core. Imagining my husband with another woman was one thing, but with another man?
'I can't bear it,' I sobbed.
It felt like our whole life together had been a lie.
Devastated, I grabbed my mobile and called Chris.
'I–I was just curious,' he stammered.
'It didn't mean anything.'
I was so confused.
Was Chris bisexual? Gay? Was this really something he'd got out of his system?
'I love you, I swear,' he told me that night. 'I just had a moment
of madness.'
He was crying and begging me for another chance, and I know it sounds crazy but, in a way, I felt sorry for him. The poor bloke was obviously messed up.
'It's OK,' I said, hugging him.
Yes, I'd been betrayed, my heart broken. But this was my husband, the man I loved.
'We can get through this,' I told him.
But try as I might, I couldn't get the image of Chris romping with some hairy bloke out of my head.
Was it really a one-off? Or did Chris fancy other men? And what if he swung both ways? Was he cheating with other women, as well? Doubt ate away at me. So two weeks later, I checked on his computer again, and this time, as well as more emails from gay men telling Chris he was 'hot', I found pictures of naked men and gay porn videos.
'Don't bother denying it!' I roared when he came in that night. 'You're gay, aren't you?'
Chris hung his head.
'I've been sleeping with men throughout our marriage,' he admitted. 'I'm so sorry.'
Heartbroken, I fled with the kids back to my family in Germany. I felt so humiliated telling them my marriage had been a sham.Had there been signs I'd missed? Should I have guessed? Finally, after a few weeks in Germany, I rang Chris.
'It's over,' I told him. 'I'm coming home to collect my stuff.'
But when I got back to Hereford, there was no sign of him.
I phoned him to find out where he was.
'I'm at my boyfriend's,' Chris said, his voice suddenly sounding camp.
As he put down the phone, rage surged through my veins.
He already had a boyfriend!
'I'll make him pay for this,' I fumed.
Frantically, I logged into Chris's email account, found an explicit message from one of his lovers, and before I could even think, I forwarded it to everyone in his address book — his friends, family, even his squaddie colleagues.
Now he'll know what it's like to feel humiliated, I thought. Then I went back to Germany without contacting him again. That was nine months ago and I've not spoken to Chris since.
I heard he'd left the army and was living with his boyfriend, Mark, 18, in Manchester.
After Chris's lies and betrayal, it's very hard to trust someone again. That's why I'm taking
things very slowly with the new man in my life. Chris ruined my past, I'm damn sure I won't let him ruin my future.
Chris says: 'I had doubts about my sexuality when I married Victoria, and I'm not proud that I had relationships with men during our marriage. Sadly, me and Mark have split up. Things just didn't work out. I still think I made the right decision about coming out and I'm sure I'll meet someone else in the future.'
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