The father of two, 29, who left his partner of 10 for his Ukrainian refugee girlfriend, was photographed with the 22-year-old after they moved into his parents’ home.
Security guard Tony Garnett hugs his lover Sofiia Karkadym after she moved into the longtime couple’s home for 10 days after fleeing war-torn Lviv.
Mr Garnett, who lives in Bradford, West Yorkshire, said he has fallen in love with Sofiia and wants to spend the rest of his life with her.
And Sofiia, who fled the city in western Ukraine, said she “fell in love” with Tony as soon as she saw him and the two have their own “love story”.
The new couple now live with Tony’s mum and dad, although they are looking for properties to move into.
Tony Garnett, 29, said he fell in love with 22-year-old Sofiia, who said she fell in love with Tony as soon as she saw him
Yesterday, abandoned mum Lorna Garnett shared her anger after letting the Ukrainian woman into her home.
Lorna says she was heartbroken after her partner decided to leave her for Sofia.
Speaking to the Sun on Sunday, Lorna said she believes Sofiia “set her sights on Anthony from the start, decided she wanted him and she took him”.
She added: “She didn’t care about the devastation that was left behind. Everything I knew was turned upside down in two weeks.’
Lorna told the newspaper she had reservations about the plan but thought it was the right thing to do after seeing the “appalling” situation in Ukraine on the news.
Abandoned mum Lorna Garnett (pictured with ex-partner Tony) shared her anger after letting the Ukrainian into her home
Abandoned mum Lorna Garnett, whose partner Tony eloped with a Ukrainian refugee, has shared her anger after letting the woman into her home. Pictured: Tony and Lorna before the split
Sofiia Karkadym (pictured) arrived in the UK in early May after fleeing the war in Ukraine
She said: “I’ve decided that putting a roof over someone’s head and helping them when they’re in distress is the right thing to do.
“And that’s how Sofiia repaid me for giving her a home.”
The family had taken Sofiia in to help the Ukrainians flee the Russian invasion. Tony told The Sun he wanted to “do the right thing” and that she was the first person to take to a Facebook page where he offered to house a refugee under the government scheme.
Sofiia, who works as an IT manager, flew to Manchester on May 4 after weeks of waiting in Berlin for her UK visa to be approved.
Tony said he and Sofiia bonded quickly and while his six-year-old and three-year-old daughters also liked them, his partner of 10 years did not.
Just 10 days after moving in with the Garnett family, Sofiia (pictured) and her lover Tony moved out
Sofiia, an IT manager, fled the western Ukrainian city of Lviv before the war. Pictured: Refugees wait to board a train at Lviv’s main railway station in February
Tony, who speaks Slovak, would converse with his future lover while she spoke Ukrainian since the two languages are mutually intelligible.
However, this resulted in Lorna not understanding what they were talking about.
“We got along great, but at the time it wasn’t more than that – although I can understand why Lorna was starting to be jealous and resentful of her,” Tony said.
As the days went by, Sofiia would join Tony at the gym and they would chat in his car while becoming physically close at home.
“At home, I realized that we found excuses to touch and rub against each other. It was very flirtatious, but nothing more than that was happening at the time,” he said.
“Although it was fairly harmless, it caused controversy. I can understand that. When I got on in the evening, Sofia was the one who prepared a meal for me to try.«
Sofiia said she “fell in love” with Tony as soon as she saw him and they live their own “love story”.
The IT manager (pictured) has moved in with Tony and his parents while they find their own apartment
As the couple grew closer, Lorna became “very jealous,” says Tony, and began to wonder why Sofiia was following him all the time.
“The atmosphere got very bad and Sofiia told me she didn’t know if she could continue living with us under the circumstances,” he said.
“Lorna was never that excited about having a refugee in our house because it meant the girls had to move into one room.”
Things came to a head after an explosive argument between the women left Sofiia in tears, saying she no longer felt like she could live in the same house as Lorna.
Tony said “something clicked inside me” and he said to Lorna “if she goes, I’ll go”.
The couple then packed their bags and moved in with Tony’s mum and dad, although they are scouting for properties to move into.
After their 10-year relationship ended in just 10 days, Tony says he feels bad and that it’s not Lorna’s fault.
“I’m so sorry for what Lorna is going through, it wasn’t her fault and it wasn’t about anything she did wrong.
“We never set out to do this, it wasn’t planned and we didn’t want to hurt anyone.”