When father-of-five Wayne Gardiner became a Good Samaritan and took in a homeless 17-year-old girl, he thought he was doing the honourable thing.
Tamsin Beezer, who worked with his wife Sarah, 38, in a care home, had phoned in tears, saying her parents had thrown her out. There was no way Wayne was going to leave her to sleep on the streets. But Wayne’s act of kindness turned out to be the biggest mistake of his life.
For just one month later his wife of 14 years walked out on him and the children and is engaged to Tamsin, now 18. Wayne, 39, only found out the truth when Sarah changed her relationship status on Facebook and it was spotted by their daughter Lucy, who at 21 is three years older than her mum’s new lover.
Wayne says: “I thought I was doing the right thing by a teenage girl who needed a place to stay. I never in a million years imagined they would get together. “My wife has left us for a girl young enough to be one of her daughters. We are all horrified by what she has done. “The kids are in bits. We have been married years and I never once thought she had a thing for women.”
Wayne, from Bristol, met Sarah when they were both just 14. Sarah was 16 when they had their first daughter, Lucy. Although they were young, their relationship was strong, and they went on to have Louis, 15, Chloe, 14, Charlie, 12, and Harvey, seven. They married 14 years ago.
Their happy family grew again when Lucy had her son Oliver, now two, with Sarah a typical doting grandmother. Then, in February last year, they got the tearful phone call from Tamsin which has shattered their lives.
Wayne says: “As a father of five I couldn’t sit back and let a teenage girl wander the streets alone. “I told my wife we could pick her up and let her stay with us to ensure she was safe. I had no idea I was making the biggest mistake of my life.” Half an hour later the teenager was sitting on their sofa with a cup of tea. Wayne and Sarah gave her a duvet and pillows to make a bed up in their lounge. Wayne says: “It wasn’t ideal, but I didn’t mind. I was pleased we could help and she seemed a pleasant enough kid. We’re a large family anyway, so having an extra person in the house wasn’t a big deal.”
Tamsin made friends with Chloe and became like a big sister, baking cakes with her and giving her makeovers. Lucy had previously moved out, so the younger children enjoyed having Tamsin around. They even took her on the family night out bowling. But after two weeks Tamsin was showing no sign of leaving, and Sarah had begun staying up late at night drinking.