Woman devastated after realizing her vacation romance was a sick prank

Finding your first love is a feeling like no other. You finally realize what the lovey-dovey movies are all about, and there’s seemingly nothing standing in your way from falling further head over heels with the boy or girl of your dreams. That is until, of course, you realize they’re actually a piece of trash who you should never have looked twice at.
No one knows this unfortunate heartbreak more than British-born woman Sophie Steveson – who was left crushed in the cruelest way possible.

A barmaid in love

24-year-old Sophie Stevenson is a beautiful young girl, with a successful life ahead of her. What 21st-century woman needs a man nowadays anyway? Nevertheless, Sophie still longed for that first love feeling, and fortunately for her, she got that warm, fuzzy feeling when on vacation in Barcelona.

She worked long, late hours as a barmaid, so a trip away to a sunny Spanish city was just what she needed for a while – to meet a guy would be the icing on top of the cake too.

Love in Barcelona

Unfortunately, Sophie’s cake was about to be smashed to pieces by the man she fell for. His name is Jesse Mateman, a 21-year-old Dutch student, who like Sophie, was enjoying his early twenties by basking in the joy, fun, and laughter of the prime of his life.

The pair met in Barcelona where they were both vacationing with friends. You never know what amazing things you’re going to experience when you take a city break, and meeting someone who you have a connection with is something you usually only daydream about. But for Sophie, it all came true. But things were far too good to be true…

Hitting it off

Sophie’s vacation romance started on the first day she arrived in the Spanish city. It was a gorgeous summer day, but unfortunately, there was a terror threat across the city at the time, so her hotel had been put on lockdown until it was deemed safe.

This wasn’t your typical first day on vacation, but nonetheless, Sophie and her friend tried to make the most of it by hanging out on the hotel’s rooftop. They felt safe there. Plus the sun was shining down hard. It was here, with the backdrop of the stunning Barcelona skyline, that Sophie first met Jesse.

Holiday romance

He too was enjoying a summer break with his friends, so it wasn’t long before the two groups of friends hit it off. The youngsters spent the night laughing and joking together, as you do when you’re on vacation looking to have a good time and meet new people, and for the remainder of their time away, Sophie and her friend hung out with Jesse and his fellow Dutch travelers.

The group of boys seemed like charming young men, and it helped that the girls felt safe around them, especially with the terror threats taking over the city at the time.

Keeping in touch

After a week of frolicking in the sun together, Sophie and Jesse’s romance was about to meet its sad end. Sophie was due to go back to Manchester in the UK, and Jesse had to go back to Amsterdam too. However, neither of them wanted to leave Barcelona, and Sophie didn’t want to leave Jesse either.

The only thing left to do was exchange numbers. After saying an emotional goodbye to each other at the hotel, both groups of friends departed ways and headed back to their home cities. Sophie for sure left Barcelona with a smile on her face and a spring in her step.

A happy girl

Back home, she and Jesse kept in contact avidly. In fact, they didn’t leave each other alone! Constant text messages were flying to and from each other, and Jesse would ring her whenever he had the chance. Sophie even started to tell her friends and family about him – they could tell by the happy glow on her face that she had met someone special.

Everyone loves a vacation romance, and this feeling was something Sophie had never felt before.

Feeling the distance

Long-distance romances can be tough, and although the pair agreed to meet up as soon as possible, the soonest Jesse could come over to Manchester was months away in October. So feeling bold, Sophie decided to book a flight out to Amsterdam herself.

Why not? It was clear that they were both into each other, so why would they wait? After getting an exciting confirmation from Jesse, Sophie got herself a seat out to see him.

Flying the distance

The big day arrived, and with her passport in hand, Sophie ventured to the airport to board her flight. Jesse was texting Sophie, telling her how much he was looking forward to seeing her, and Sophie felt the same way. She couldn’t wait to finally touch down and see him again.

So after reassuring her mom that she would let her know as soon as she arrived safely, Sophie text Jesse one more time, and switched off her phone until she arrived in Amsterdam.

Arriving safely

After a brief journey across to the Netherlands, Sophie finally arrived safely, getting more and more excited and nervous to see Jesse. She turned her phone back on to let her mom know she was fine, but there were no texts from Jesse.

After getting through security and into the arrivals lounge, there was no sign of him too. She didn’t overthink it at first – perhaps he was running late, and his phone ran out of battery?

AWOL

After waiting patiently and ringing him to find out where he was, Sophie started to panic a little. She was on her own in another country, feeling stranded and afraid that the guy she was due to meet wasn’t there to greet her.

She rang her cousin back home to explain the situation and get some advice on what to do, and fortunately, her cousin reassured her that he would, of course, be there. She told her to relax and keep waiting. He would turn up, she told her. Surely?

Feeling worried

However, after another two and a half hours of waiting, Sophie started to worry even more. Was he going to come? Why wasn’t he answering his phone? Was he okay? A million different things ran through her mind.

Everything was telling her to get the first flight back home, but there was still a little part of her that was holding on to Jesse turning up and explaining everything. Her phone was about to run out of battery too, so she booked herself a room for the night.

Losing hope

However, after speaking to her mom, she was told to get home immediately. By the time it became 11 pm, it had dawned on Sophie that Jesse wasn’t going to show. She had been stood up, and it broke her heart in two. She was devastated.

How could he do this to her? Especially after all that he had said to her about how much he missed her. Sophie needed answers, and unfortunately, she was about to get the answers she never wanted to hear.

Receiving a text message

While walking through the airport to book herself a flight home in the morning, Sophie’s phone buzzed in her pocket. At first, she hoped it would be Jesse telling her he was on his way, but it turned out to be the complete opposite.

It was indeed a message from Jesse, but it wasn’t what she hoped. The message simply said, “You were pigged. It was all a joke.” Sophie was confused, was this really the Jesse she met in Barcelona? Her heart sank.

A sudden realization

After reading the texts, Sophie burst into tears. Uncontrollable tears. And there was no one there to comfort her either. She just wanted to get home to her mom asap. After ringing her and explaining the texts, Sophie’s mom was furious.

It was a painful thought to think her daughter was out in Amsterdam, on her own, having to spend the night in a hotel, heartbroken. He’s lucky he never met her, that’s for sure.

Feeling heartbroken

Sophie felt sick. She couldn’t quite comprehend what had just happened. Jesse was so sweet and kind to her in Barcelona, so how could he pull such a sick and twisted prank on her? This meant he had been lying to her for weeks now, so she couldn’t understand why he would deliberately hurt someone so brutally.

At this point, Sophie didn’t know how to respond to him. What could she say to make it better? There was nothing.

Sending a reply

“Pulling a pig” is a sick game that people play when they are dared to flirt with a person they deem to be the most unattractive. Sophie was all too well aware of what this means. Her heart was still in two.

She thought about what to say to him, and finally, she said, “How could you be so cruel though?” Sophie wasn’t even sure that she wanted a reply. She wanted to forget about the whole thing.

A sick joke

But Sophie never received a reply. In fact, he immediately blocked her number, and she never heard from him again. While waiting for him, Sophie had rung and text him numerous times, but no replies proved he had already blocked her to make sure she couldn’t track him down.

Jesse’s game was a sick joke, all at the expense of Sophie’s feelings. She was crushed. All she wanted was to get home.

Sharing her story

After touching down in Manchester the next morning, Sophie was greeted by a warm hug from her furious mother. Knowing someone had hurt her daughter in the cruelest way possible was filling her with rage. She needed to do something about it.

As a way of making sure it doesn’t happen to any other girls, Sophie agreed to share her story to the press, specifically featuring on the popular British daytime TV program, This Morning.

A nasty boy

Sophie was clearly nervous to tell her story, but the courage and bravery she showed in the interview will certainly inspire a lot of young girls, especially when it comes to speaking up against the people who deliberately try to hurt their feelings.

After telling her account of what happened, it was clear that Jesse’s behavior was about to be universally condemned. And rightfully so too! He should be ashamed of himself.

Feeling devastated

Sitting alongside her supportive mother, Sophie explained how her confidence has crashed ever since what happened. Her self-esteem has been severely affected, and her mental health as a spritely young woman has plummeted – all because of one nasty boy who took it upon himself to mock and insult her.

Sophie struggled to leave the house for weeks, and she no longer had the confidence to make it into work either. How could people be so mean?

Counter-argument

Perhaps the worst part about it all is the fact that Jesse denies everything. After the situation became a legal case, Jesse hired a lawyer to ensure his side of the story was told. He insists that the two never had a romance, and that their contact after the vacation was non-existent.

He also denies ever sending Sophie the message regarding his ‘pig pulling prank.’ However, his story has changed multiple times, meaning he is a liar just as much as he is a despicable young man.

Supportive messages

After coming forward and telling her story for the world to hear, the world has spoken back to her with amazing amounts of support. According to Sophie, she has received hundreds of messages from both loved ones and strangers, all expressing their kind words to her and offering their support in whatever way they can.

Some people have even shared their own similar stories where they have fallen victim to the ‘pig pulling prank’ too.

Moving forward

Sophie has since spoken out about the tremendous amount of support she has been shown. She says it has helped her get through the ordeal greatly, knowing now that there is more kindness in the world than there is a spitefulness.

There have also been donations flooding in to reimburse the funds she paid out for her flight. She now has everything she needs to move on from what happened and start to rightfully believe in herself and her beauty once more.