Bride reveals backstory that led to having black paint thrown over her at wedding
A mother-of-two has revealed what sparked the bitter family feud which resulted in her being doused in black paint on her wedding day.
Mere moments before she was about to walk down the aisle, Gemma Monk's £1,800 gown that she 'absolutely loved' was ruined by her sister-in-law Antonia Eastwood.
She has now opened up about what led to her brother Ashley's wife launching the 'revenge' attack on her big day and the lasting impact it has left on her.
According to the bride, Eastwood - who received a suspended prison sentence in court last week in relation to the incident - later cruelly boasted that she was the 'best decorator around' after hurling black paint at Monk.
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Monk was about to get hitched to her childhood sweetheart Ken in May 2024 at Oakwood House in Maidstone, Kent, when chaos erupted at the venue.
She claims that unbeknownst to her, Eastwood and her husband were 'crouched down behind a wall and lying in wait' for her to arrive, with the aim of getting their own back.
The pair were not invited to attend the ceremony at Oakwood House due to a long-running row between the couples which stems back to September 2023.
Monk, a mental health care worker, explained that Eastwood was convinced she had ruined her and Ashley's wedding day and accused her of 'sticking her foot out to try and trip her' as she headed down the aisle.
Describing her brother's nuptials as a 'disaster', the mum told the Daily Mail: "There were so many things that went wrong. I had always been close to my brother, Ashley, and so all I can think of is that Toni was jealous of that.
I believe that he and Toni are delusional and were looking for someone to blame for their wedding day going wrong. They said nothing to me or Ken on the actual day, and to be honest, we enjoyed ourselves.
"We gave them money as a gift and were the first couple to join them on the dance floor. But two months later, I got a text from Toni. It was straight out of the blue and it left me reeling."
Monk said her sister in law branded her a 'two-faced b*tch' and alleged that she had made 'snide remarks' about her before supposedly trying to trip her up.
"I'm about 5ft tall, my legs aren't long enough to trip her even if I wanted to," she continued. "The text messages really shocked me, I couldn't believe what she was accusing me of and why.
"It was incredible and came out of nowhere. I've since looked back at a wedding video of the day and it shows Toni walking past me without any incident at all."
Although she said there was 'no bad blood between them' before the 2023 wedding, Monk admitted she wasn't the biggest fan of her brother's wife.
She explained that both Ashley and Eastwood left their respective partners and children to be together, and she believed her sister in law relished in 'splitting up two families'.
"The bust-up between us meant that we didn't invite either Ashley or Toni to our wedding," Monk went on. "But we did invite his ex-wife and 14-year old daughter because we'd remained friendly with them at least."
Revealing some further details about what happened before she was pelted with black paint at her own wedding, Monk claimed that Eastwood's actions also resulted in her father crashing his car.
The bride recalled how she had arrived in her dad Jason's Range Rover and he was parking up when she walked inside to greet her bridesmaids ahead of getting hitched to Ken, who she got together with when she was 14.
"I'd taken a few steps when I heard my name shouted," Monk said. "I turned round thinking that I'd caught the train of my dress and had black paint thrown all over me!
"The paint got into my eyes and my hair. It also splashed onto my bridesmaids. It happened so quickly that for a split second I didn't know what was happening. Instinctively, I chased after Toni and grabbed her by her hair.
"But I looked up and saw that my father had tried to get out of the car to help me. The vehicle was in reverse and he was half in-half out the car as it crashed into a wall. I let go of Toni to help my dad and she fled with my brother."
Still, as they say in showbiz, the show must go on - so Monk hopped into the shower at Oakwood House and got changed into a replacement dress before giving a statement about Eastwood's attack to police.
Two hours behind schedule, Monk got married. However, she explained that the incident ultimately spoilt 'what should have been the happiest day of her life'.
The mum said she doesn't have any pictures of her big day decorating her home, adding: "How can I? They would bring back such bad memories."
Monk and Ken also left their reception 'early', said they 'couldn't enjoy' their wedding night at a swanky hotel and even ended up cancelling their dream honeymoon trip to the Maldives in wake of the paint attack.
Earlier this month, a judge at Maidstone Crown Court gave Eastwood, 49, a 10-month suspended sentence, a £5,000 fine, a 10-year restraining order and ordered her to complete 160 hours of unpaid work after she pleaded guilty to two counts of criminal damage.
"I later heard through other relatives that she defended her actions by saying it's what I deserved and was in revenge for spoiling her wedding," Monk said. "But revenge for what? Something that she concocted herself."
Her brother Ashley shared a brief statement about the family feud, insisting there is 'more to it'.
He said his wife has 'suffered more than enough' and now they each 'want it over and done with, adding: "She's done what she's done. I can't believe it's taken 18 months to get to this."
Olivia Burke