A man who has been single his whole life is set to wed after falling in love with a Ukrainian refugee.
Guy Wilson met Karyna Kulyk while volunteering in his hometown.
The 34-year-old made her way to the UK to escape her war-ravaged country with her son Serafim, now seven.
Guy, 49 – who admits he lacked confidence and struggled to find the one of his whole life.
He believed he was never going to meet anyone because of it.
But after almost five decades of being single, an unexpected turn of events led Guy, of Chepstow, South Wales to meet Karyna.
Guy told Need To Know: “Love always finds a way.
“In my case, I thought I knew where my life was going but suddenly a world event changed all that.
“I’m so thrilled we found each other.
“Girls were a new thing to me at my age and my mum and dad never expected me to meet anyone.
“But 18 months on, I have a fiancé and a seven-year-old little boy who wants me to adopt him – it’s been a whirlwind!”
Karyna, of Mezhova, near Donetsk, Ukraine was forced to leave her life behind after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
After leaving her home on the front line, the last thing Karyna expected was to fall in love with a kind stranger.
She says many members of her family had to stay in Ukraine and can hear shells fire every day.
Karyna said: “When I came to the UK, I had my son and my suitcase.
“I had to leave everything else behind.”
Guy added: “When I watched the news, I was horrified.
“I never dreamt I would meet a Ukrainian and all of a sudden you fall in love with a person from this place.
“You never expect to meet someone from a war zone.”
In January last year, Guy met Karyna whilst volunteering at St Briavel’s Ukrainian Support Hub in the Forest of Dean.
He is a member of The Chepstow Rotary Club which supported the charity by giving warm clothing and financial support and offering lifts for new families that moved to the area.
After another volunteer asked Guy to give Karyna a lift for a day trip, the pair hit it off instantly.
As they started to spend more time together, their friendship began to grow into something more romantic.
Karyna, who previously worked as a lawyer in Ukraine, found a job in the UK waiting tables.
During her evening shifts, Guy selflessly offered to babysit Serafim and get to know Karyna’s son.
After dating for several months, Guy says his life was transformed for the better and the relationship has helped with his clinical depression.
On New Year’s Eve, he was ready to commit and proposed to Karyna with his mother’s engagement ring on a beach in Rock opposite Padstow, Cornwall.
Guy said: “I wanted to ask permission to marry Karyna.
“So I wrote to her Dad, who is living near the frontline using Google translate.
“The answer was ‘Finally!”
“I planned the proposal on the beach and timed fireworks to go off when I popped the question.”
Karyna instantly said yes and the besotted pair are set to wed on 28 May this year at their local parish.
The wedding will be a small ceremony with just 40 guests attending as Karyna’s family are unable to attend because of the war.
However, they are over the moon that her mother, Valentyna will be able to make the special day.
