Antonia Eastwood, 49, was handed a 10-month jail term suspended for 12 months after the wedding day paint attack on bride Gemma Monk in Maidstone, who was marrying her brother
A woman who narrowly escaped jail after hurling black paint over her sister-in-law at her wedding has spoken out for the first time. Antonia Eastwood, 49, received a 10-month prison sentence suspended for 12 months following a spiteful “revenge” assault on 35-year-old Gemma Monk at Oakwood House Register Office in Maidstone in May 2024.
The incident saw black paint doused across Gemma’s white wedding gown on her special day in front of stunned guests – yet the bride continued with the ceremony as planned, exchanging vows after switching into a different dress.
Mrs Eastwood, who is wed to Gemma’s brother Ashley, alleged she launched the attack in retaliation for an alleged incident at her own nuptials the previous year.
Breaking her silence since being sentenced, she revealed: “I feel ashamed of myself. It’s not me. I’ve never been in trouble with the police before. Ever.
“I had a full-blown panic attack on the day I was sentenced. I was petrified I’d go to prison. It has all taken its toll,” she told the Daily Mail.
Ashley, meanwhile, described an alleged incident at their wedding in 2023, when he claimed Gemma “had her foot in the aisle as Toni walked past”. It sparked a row that resulted in Ashley and Antonia being excluded from Gemma’s wedding, reports the Mirror.
Eastwood, 49, who now resides in Manchester, was sentenced at Maidstone Crown Court for two charges of criminal damage. The court was informed that the cost for repairs and “loss of revenue” at Oakwood House following the paint throwing incident was at least £5,000.
In a victim impact statement read to the court, Gemma said: “To have paint thrown over me by my brother’s wife changed my outlook on life and made me question whether I had done something really bad, whether I had done something wrong.
“This has had a dramatic impact on my life. Even while I was providing this statement at the police station, I got extremely emotional and started crying while talking about the incident.
“Since the incident, if it wasn’t for my children or my family, I don’t think I would even get out of bed to care for myself. I have lost all my dignity and good habits in life. I have lost who I used to be.
“This has turned the most special day of my life into the worst memory I will never forget, and neither will my family.”