‘I fell in love with Egyptian toyboy 35 years youthful on TikTok – it price me hundreds’

Jacqueline, 61, fell in love with a 26-year-old pastry chef she met on TikTok

View 7 Images

A 61-year-old grandmother reveals she became smitten with a 26-year-old Egyptian toyboy she encountered on TikTok – and splashed out £4,000 before discovering it wasn’t destined to last. Jacqueline Dube, 61, became besotted with the pastry chef and, despite the 2,500-mile separation and a 35-year age difference, the duo chatted daily, she maintains.

Following 16 months of correspondence, she jetted off to meet him face-to-face for the first time in September, where they professed their love for one another, she claims. However, after her second visit a month afterwards – during which he popped the question and they started arranging their nuptials, she maintains – she recognised the romance might not be what she’d envisioned.

Chef Jacqueline from St Albans, Hertfordshire, revealed she understood the cultural, financial and geographical obstacles were insurmountable for the romance to endure. She had splurged approximately £4,000 on flights, presents and lodging during their courtship.

She has now terminated the romance with the Egyptian, has cancelled their two-month engagement permanently and has been left devastated.

Jacqueline, who spoke to Sell Us Your Story, said: “I thought he saw me for who I was. He told me he loved me to the moon and back

“He made me feel special and wanted. Now I know that I don’t have what I thought I had. I ask myself, ‘why did I do this?’. You can’t help who you love, but I blame myself. I should never have got on that plane.”

Jacqueline, a mother-of-three and grandmother-of-three, was broadcasting live on TikTok alongside her niece when the gentleman from Alexandria, Egypt, entered their group chat. He complimented Jacqueline, calling her “beautiful”, and she considered it “harmless” to swap contact details and continue chatting via WhatsApp. Within moments of their messaging exchange, he admitted his preference for “older women”, she revealed.

Jacqueline reflected: “I began asking myself ‘why have I fallen in love with a 20-something man?'”

Jacqueline was introduced to his entire family through video calls, and they appeared welcoming, as he informed them that he and Jacqueline would wed – despite never having met face-to-face or proposing, she explained. She arranged her inaugural trip to visit him and lodge with his relatives for eight days in September 2025. Jacqueline found herself becoming increasingly smitten, regardless of their age difference.

She recalled: “I would smell his smell, sometimes we’d lie together hugging. We would listen to music together.

“I started to get closer to him, the kissing got better and it got better. Everyone from his family travelled from afar to meet me.”

They enjoyed boat excursions and dining experiences with him and his relatives, with Jacqueline frequently volunteering to cover the costs.

She explained: “There were some cultural differences when we first met – at first I thought ‘what have I done?’ but over time we got closer. He would always tell me ‘I love you, I adore you’ – and swear to Allah that he loved me.”

She arranged another Egyptian getaway for November 2025. Upon her arrival at the airport, he had organised a limousine and presented her with flowers. During Jacqueline’s second visit in December, he popped the question and they even began organising their Cairo wedding ceremony.

Once back on British soil, Jacqueline totted up her expenses and realised she’d splashed out £4,000 on him and his relatives, prompting second thoughts about her promises. When she confronted him about the money matters, she noticed their romance starting to crumble. Jacqueline started questioning whether the relationship matched her expectations.

Reflecting on the situation, she admitted: “I still cry thinking I’ll never see him again.”

According to her, they’ve maintained contact since he later removed the block and tried to patch things up, though Jacqueline insists she won’t return to him.

She continued: “I’m in debt. I’ve not been able to pay my bills. I developed some sort of weird attachment to him after being on my own for 10 years.

“I wanted to prove to people that they were wrong about us and about him. When people told me not to go and see him, I didn’t listen. Now I see what people warned me about.”

When contacted for his response, the man said: “This woman is crazy.”

Ensure our latest headlines always appear at the top of your Google Search by making us a Preferred Source. Click here to activate or add us as your Preferred Source in your Google search settings.