For better or for worse?
The groom who left his bride at the altar on their wedding day has been identified but he’s not offering any apologies for ghosting his broken-hearted fiancée.
Kallum Norton, a 24-year-old police officer, was contacted by The Sun, but did not explain why he ditched Kayley Stead, 27, and vanished from her life.
“I don’t want to talk about the article,” Norton said.
Meanwhile, Stead — who carried on with her day in full, including photos, the first dance and cutting the cake — opened up about the ordeal, calling it “heartbreaking.”
“I wish there were [signs this would happen] because then I would have a reason to back up this decision but there wasn’t,” Stead said on the British talk show “This Morning.” “To be honest with you it was really heartbreaking, but I thought if I start crumbling now….”
“No relationship is perfect, but I honestly did think we were each other’s person,” the Wales resident added.
The ex-couple were set to marry on Sept. 15 at the Oxwich Bay Hotel in Swansea, Wales. But on the morning of what was going to be a joyous day, the groom failed to show up.
However, and had his dad break the news to the bummed bride.
“[Norton’s] dad then rang me,” she said. “He’s a matter of fact man, he’s a frank man and he said: ‘I am sorry, he is safe, but he is four hours away’ and we had an hour to get married.”
But Stead didn’t want to waste her pricey bash so she decided to continue on with the reception. She even did her wedding entrance, speeches, first dances and posed for her professional photos, which went viral, with her guests sans Norton.
“I saw the groom at around 4 p.m. the day before the wedding and I haven’t heard from him since,” Stead, who is an insurance clerk, told SWNS on Friday.
Norton and Stead had a four-year relationship and got engaged in Aug. 2020.
“We’ve tried to reach out to him, but I’ve had no response from him, no reason why. I’ve had no explanation — not that I want one now, because it’s too far along the line,” she said.
Stead realized Norton had left while she was getting her hair and makeup done with her bridal party. By 11 a.m., Norton’s father revealed that he would not be showing up after all.
“I honestly believed, hand on heart, that he was going to be there,” Stead recalled, adding that she didn’t feel nervous about his departure at first.
At the reception, Stead and her friends danced through their entrance to Lizzo’s single “Good as Hell.”
She also had her first dance with her groomsmen, her brothers and her dad Brian, 71.
When it was time for cake, she gladly sliced it and boldly smashed the top tier with her pals by her side.
“I didn’t want to remember the day as complete sadness,” she said. “There were so many special moments… so there was still happiness in the day.”
Stead later canceled her honeymoon vacation to Turkey and packed up her ex-partner’s belongings from her home, dropping them off with his family.
She also feels very thankful for her besties, who haven’t left her side since the situation occurred, even setting up a GoFundMe page for Stead to help pay for the wedding party.
“It was an absolute shock,” she said. “I had no indication he was going to do this but seeing my girls distraught as well made me want to turn the day around.”
