Warning: This article contains discussion of suicide which some readers may find distressing
A recently married woman was left heartbroken the day after their honeymoon after her husband took his own life.
Isabel Coles met her husband Christopher Coles on a dating app a year and a half before tying the knot in September 2024. They then headed straight to a beach-front music festival in New Jersey, USA, for their honeymoon.
The couple loved music and went to the 'Sea.Hear.Now' Festival to celebrate their marriage, in which Isabel recalled they were 'insanely happy'.
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But after getting home, she noticed him acting weirdly, resulting in the 28-year-old army veteran walking into the woods with a handgun after their honeymoon.
Isabel, 32, described their honeymoon as 'perfect', though Christopher didn't want to speak to her after they got back and he seemed unlike himself.
Before he left the house, she tried to stop him but sadly, she was informed of the veteran's suicide the next morning (18 September).
She claimed that he didn't show any signs of struggling when it came to his mental health, claiming that he was folding laundry the morning before he was found.
And recently, Isabel was shocked to learn that she'd been sent flowers from Christopher months on from taking his own life, as he had organised the delivery to arrive while he was with the military.
North Carolina-native Isabel recalled them being 'insanely happy and in love', explaining: "Music was a huge part of our relationship, it was the perfect way to celebrate our marriage."
She went on: "We flew back home and he stayed up all night putting our guest information into our website for the ceremony in May. In the morning, he was folding laundry and things were a little weird. I asked him what was wrong, and he said 'nothing'.
"He went downstairs and tried to get out. I stood at the front door and asked what was going on."
This is when she recalled him trying to get to the woods, which she tried to stop, especially when she realised he took his gun with him.
Christopher's parents made their way from Georgia to help her find him, and unfortunately, his dad found him on the morning of 18 September, which left Isabel 'shocked and devastated'.
Remembering that they had 'a great time' at the honeymoon she pointed out: "My husband was very successful and very driven and motivated and he was such a good person, so looking back I think, 'were there signs?'
"He was very hard on himself, always pushing himself. There were no signs, it did take me really off guard."
Isabel explained that he wanted to get married in September last year, prior to his deployment in October, having proposed to her after completing a marathon.
A celebration with friends and family was booked for May 2025 as the couple got married in court last year.
Opening up about how it was when he was deployed, which was often, she explained: "He wrote to me every single day where he was telling me about his day, almost like talking to me.
"He would ask me about my day knowing that I couldn't respond."
Isabel's pain-staking story has since gone viral online, and she now aims to raise awareness for mental health. She set to run the Chicago Marathon in October to raise money for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.
She pointed out that 'everyone wants a reason why' when it comes to his passing as a 'handsome, successful man', adding: "There are people in my life that say I had something to do with it. I know it's not true, my husband and I were very happy. No one can change that or take that away from me."
The American believes he was 'obviously fighting demons' in private, while admitting that she wasn't doing well herself.
Isabel concluded: "There's still so much that I'm dealing with that make me feel like I'm re-living the moment over and over again which is very tough.
"He didn't do it to hurt me, he wouldn't do anything to hurt me. For whatever reason he probably thought that people would be better off without him."
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, please don’t suffer alone. Call Samaritans for free on their anonymous 24-hour phone line on 116 123.
Topics: Mental Health, US News
Joshua Nair