68-Year-Old British Woman Seeks Divorce After Nigerian Husband Allegedly Leaves UK Following Spouse Visa

•  A 68-year-old British woman from West Yorkshire has spoken publicly about the breakdown of her marriage to a Nigerian man, alleging that he disappeared after moving to the United Kingdom on a spouse visa and accusing him of having been more interested in securing immigration status than maintaining their relationship.  Dawn Otewell, from Dewsbury, said she met Bright Emokpae, 31, through dating apps in 2021. She told The Sun that Emokpae, who is from Edo State, initially presented himself as “Brian Thomas” before she later learned that he was a Nigerian fashion student living in northern Cyprus.  The pair developed their relationship through regular video calls before Otewell travelled to Cyprus. They married at a registry office in Nicosia on March 22, 2022, when Otewell was 64 and Emokpae was 27. Following the wedding, Emokpae returned to Nigeria to apply for a UK spouse visa. The application was approved about a year later, after which Otewell travelled to Heathrow Airport to welcome him to Britain.  According to Otewell, however, their relationship deteriorated after his arrival in the UK. She alleged that he became increasingly distant, frequently asked her for money and did not contribute to household expenses, while also sending money to Nigeria. Her brother, Rory, reportedly helped Emokpae secure employment at a local door manufacturing company.  The couple separated in October 2023 but later reconciled. Otewell said she now regrets giving the relationship another chance. She told The Sun that the couple's problems resurfaced and that Emokpae eventually left the home shortly after Christmas 2024, while she was away on a Caribbean cruise with her brother.  Otewell said she has not been able to contact her husband for about eight months after he blocked her on social media. She believes he may now be living in Scotland and may have started an online clothing business, although those claims have not been independently established.  The British woman believes Emokpae's disappearance may be connected to his immigration status. She has accused him of remaining unwilling to complete the divorce because of the benefits associated with his spouse visa, but that is her allegation and has not been established as fact. There is no indication in the reports reviewed that a court or immigration authority has found that he entered the marriage fraudulently.  Otewell is now seeking to end the marriage and has reportedly received assistance from Citizens Advice as she attempts to locate her estranged husband and serve him with the necessary divorce documents. Her situation has also raised concerns for her over what could happen to her finances and possessions if she dies before the marriage is legally dissolved.  Under UK rules, separation or divorce can have immigration consequences where a person's permission to stay is based on their relationship. The UK government says a person whose visa is based on a spouse or partner relationship will generally need to notify the Home Office when the relationship ends and may need to apply for another basis of stay or leave the country.  The circumstances of Otewell's marriage are therefore a personal account of a relationship that has broken down, rather than proof that Emokpae deliberately married her to obtain a visa. While Otewell suspects that immigration status was a motivating factor, that allegation remains unproven. Emokpae's whereabouts and his current position on the marriage could not be independently established from the reports reviewed.  For Otewell, the immediate priority is to locate her estranged husband and complete the legal process of ending the marriage. She has also used her experience to warn others to exercise caution when entering relationships that begin online, particularly where significant differences in age, location, finances or immigration circumstances are involved.