- Mother Jane Makhloufi, from Leeds, met Tunisian Mohamed online in 2011
- 47-year-old grandmother married 32-year-old toy-boy less than a year later
- But former coffee shop worker was refused Visa because English was poor
- Wife has written to David Cameron, Nick Clegg and Queen to plead for Visa
- Also claims she will convert to Islam for husband when he moves to Britain
A grandmother-of-ten who stunned her family by marrying a Tunisian toy-boy she met online is begging the Home Office to grant him a visa and has vowed to convert to Islam for him.
Jane Makhloufi, 47, from Leeds, was swept off her feet by 32-year-old Mohamed after meeting him online when her first marriage collapsed.
Despite warnings it was a scam, the mother-of-seven flew to Tunisia and tied the knot following a whirlwind romance.
Now, to further prove her devotion, Mrs Makhloufi wants to become a Muslim, like her new husband, and start wearing a hijab.
Jane Makhloufi, 47, from Leeds, was swept off her feet by 32-year-old Mohamed, from Tunisia, after meeting him online when her first marriage collapsed. The pair married in his native country a year after they first met
Mrs Makhloufi, a mother of seven, said she now wants to become a Muslim, like her new husband, and start wearing a hijab. She said the pair are devoted to each other despite warnings that the marriage is a scam
But Mohamed, 32, has so far been refused a UK Visa and relies on handouts from his wife while he searches for work.
Mrs Makhloufi, who earns gets £70-a-week in incapacity benefits, has pleaded his case with the Home Office without success.
She has asked the Prime Minister David Cameron, Nick Clegg and even The Queen for their support.
She said: 'Plenty of people think it is a scam but I know it's not.
He has told me many times that he doesn't want to be with any other woman.
He only wants to be with me.
'People think all Tunisian men are love-rats but they need to get their facts right. There are love-rats all over the world, even in England.
'All the men I met in Tunisia with my husband were really nice. If I thought for one minute it was a scam, I wouldn't have married him. I would have just stayed on my own.
'We've been married two years now. If it was a scam he would have left me by now.
Mrs Makhloufi, who earns gets £70-a-week in incapacity benefits, has pleaded her Tunisian husband's Visa case with the Home Office without success. She said the pair are now desperate to live together in Britain
Mrs Makhloufi said she was instantly attracted to Mohamed because he wasn't 'sleazy' or 'after one thing'
'When he comes here I want to convert to Islam and wear a hijab.
He hasn't said anything about it. It is my decision. If I want to do it I will do it.'
Mrs Makhloufi met Mohamed, a former coffee shop worker, on a social networking site soon after ending her 'unhappy' marriage of 26 years in 2011.
She said she was instantly attracted to him but was even more impressed by the fact he wasn't 'sleazy' or 'only after one thing'.
After exchanging increasingly flirtatious messages, she took the plunge and flew to the coastal city of Sousse to meet him face-to-face.
The keen knitter said she was nervous at first but was instantly won over by not only his looks but how polite and chivalrous he was.
She said he held doors open in front of her and took her out for exotic meals on the beach.
'He was so different to the men back in England,' she said.
'When I met him he was a proper gentleman. He was clean and respectable. In the end we couldn't keep our hands off each other.'
After 10-15 more trips to Tunisia, she was delighted when Mohamed finally popped the question and she didn't hesitate to accept.
But not everyone was happy with their romance.
'Some of the people in Tunisia didn't like it,' said Mrs Makhloufi, who admits she had only been looking for fun to start with.
Mrs Makhloufi has written to Prime Minister David Cameron, Nick Clegg and The Queen pleading for her husband to be granted a UK Visa. Pictured: The response from representatives of the Deputy Prime Minister
The grandmother-of-ten said the stress of missing her partner, who currently lives in Dublin, is making her ill
'They would say: "Why are you with an English woman, a bigger woman?"
'And he would just reply: "Because I want to be with an English woman, not a Tunisian woman."'
The pair were married on October 18, 2012, and Mrs Makhloufi describes it as the happiest day of her life.
The ceremony was vibrant and lavish and the bride wore a traditional North African wedding dress and intricate henna tattoos on her arms while the groom was dressed in a dark suit.
But their joy was short lived when, instead of coming home to live in her second floor Leeds council flat, Mohamed was refused a Visa because his English was poor.
And, even when it vastly improved with his new wife's help, he was again turned away because the UK Border Agency believed she could not support him if he failed to get a job.
As an immigrant he would have to be a resident for two-and-a-half years before he could claim benefits.
Instead, Mohammed travelled to Dublin, Ireland, after getting an EU Visa in 'three weeks' and has been there the last four months looking for work.
To survive he cooks and cleans for friends in return for a bed and food.
The pair married in October 2012 (pictured) in Tunisia following a whirlwind romance
His devoted wife sends him money when she can and even encourages him to pass it on to his family in Tunisia, who she says were always very welcoming.
Mrs Makhloufi, who suffers from rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis which keeps her out of work, said the stress of the situation is starting to make her illness worse.
She flies to see him in Ireland as many times as she can and when they are apart they speak every night on the phone or over a live video link.
They talk so much that some of her grandchildren, who regularly visit, now jokingly refer to him as their 'second grandad.'
Not all of her family, many of whom are almost the same age as her husband, are happy with the union while others are content to just 'see her happy'.
Mohamed, who was previously worked as a builder in Tunisia, said he hopes to come to the UK and prove his doubters wrong.
But most of all he wants to make up for his wife's generosity towards him.
He said: 'She is a good woman with a tender, soft heart. Every time I have been in need she has always been there.
'She has treated me well, with a lot of respect and always understands me. I've found in her what I never found in others. I hope to build a real life together.
'I've really suffered being away from her. I've been so stressed day after day and I feel hopeless and lost.
'I know some people think it is fake but I'm not bothered what they say. At the end of the day all that matter is that I am with her and she is with me and the others cannot bother us.'
Meanwhile, Mrs Makhloufi said she will continue to fight for her husband's 'right' to come to the UK and live with her.
And, although she sees little hope at present, she is adamant she will not give up without a fight.
'No one should have to leave their husband behind,' she said.
'All I want is for us to have a life together.
All I want is for my husband to be here with me.'
No comments:
Post a Comment