Fiancé faked his own death to get out of dream wedding to 23-year-old partner by ringing her up and pretending to be his own father to break the bad news

Alex Lanchester was told before wedding that Tucker Blandford had died

23-year-old called his parents but they informed her he was alive and well



Miss Lanchester met Mr Blandford in August 2012 while studying in US

He proposed and they made plans for wedding to take place last Friday



American Mr Blandford admits: 'I’m a terrible, awful person - I got scared'



A fiancé faked his own death by telephoning his partner and pretending to be his father breaking the bad news - so he could get out of his approaching wedding day, it was revealed today.



Bride-to-be Alex Lanchester, 23, of Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands, received a phone call just months before her wedding claiming that Tucker Blandford, also 23, of Stamford, Connecticut, had died in a car accident.

She then rang the American’s parents to offer her condolences, but they told her he was alive and well - and Miss Lanchester quickly learned he had faked his death to avoid the wedding.

Couple: Alex Lanchester met Tucker Blandford while studying abroad at the University of Connecticut

She said: ‘He has shattered my trust and I’m not sure I’ll ever be in a relationship again. All I ever did was love him. I’m so sick of being messed around and I’m glad to be rid of him.

‘Looking back, maybe I was naive. But I really loved him and never thought he would go to such extreme measures to dump me. I’ve cried until I felt numb but now I’m just really angry.

‘I’ll be spending our would-be wedding day making new memories without him. He’s a liar and a coward. He had put on a different voice on the phone and pretended to be his grieving father. What sort of sick person does that to his fiancé of two years? It’s sickening.’

Miss Lanchester first met Mr Blandford in August 2012 while studying abroad in the US.

She took a job at the campus cinema at the University of Connecticut in Storrs, 25 miles east of Hartford, where she bumped into set painter Mr Blandford on her first day of work.

Miss Lanchester said: ‘Tucker was such a gentleman and was always buying me dinner and beautiful vintage jewellery. I’d never been in love like that before. Every Sunday he would take me out for pancakes, it was so sweet.



'And to celebrate the day we got together, on the 10th of each month we would go out for a posh dinner. The worst thing was the idea that one day I would have to leave him and go back to England. The thought of that was breaking my heart.’

After spending a year together Miss Lanchester began to plan for her return to Britain - but Mr Blandford proposed. They spoke daily and began making plans to spend their life together.

Miss Lanchester began to organise her dream wedding and set a date for the big day - August 15, 2014. She bought a handmade dress from eBay and picked out every detail for the occasion.

She even agreed to pay for flights for Mr Blandford to fly to Britain to help with the wedding organisation and enjoy a holiday together.

Miss Lanchester said: ‘I went all out even though I had hardly any money. In the weeks running up to his visit I was mad with excitement.

Thinking of their future: After spending a year together Miss Lanchester began to plan for her return to Britain, but Mr Blandford proposed. They spoke daily and began making plans to spend the rest of their life together

'A few days later when Tucker called me and said he’d booked the venue and we would be getting married on the campus where we met, I was ecstatic. I couldn’t think of a more romantic place to tie the knot.’

'He has shattered my trust and I’m not sure I’ll ever be in a relationship again. All I ever did was love him. I’m so sick of being messed around and I’m glad to be rid of him' Alex Lanchester

Miss Lanchester rushed to get things sorted for the big day and spent £600 on photographers, invitations and bridesmaids’ dresses. But one week before Mr Blandford was due to land in Britain, she received a chilling phone call.

She said: ‘I picked up my phone and there was a man saying he was Tucker’s dad. He told me Tucker had been deeply depressed and wanted to die, so had thrown himself in front of a car.

‘The man explained that they had been trying to send Tucker off to a psychiatric unit for help. But it was too late. I couldn’t breathe. It was absolutely devastating.’

Girl meets boy: Miss Lanchester rang Mr Blandford's parents to offer her condolences after his 'death', but they told her that he was alive and well - and Miss Lanchester quickly learned he had faked it Miss Lanchester rang back after she had calmed down a little only for Mr Blandford’s mother to tell her he was fine and they had no idea what she was talking about. 'I’m a terrible, awful person. I know I shouldn’t have told her I was dead, but I didn’t know what else to do' Tucker Blandford They told her Mr Blandford had made them believe the pair had broken up when she left America. Mr Blandford - who lives in a four-bedroom house worth £650,000 - has since admitted his deception, claiming he was 'scared'.

He told a reporter in a phone call: ‘I’m a terrible, awful person. I know I shouldn’t have told her I was dead, but I didn’t know what else to do.

'Alex is an amazing girl but I got scared and wanted to get out of the relationship. It was moving extremely fast and with us being in different countries, it was really hard. Planning: Miss Lanchester bought a handmade dress and the wedding was due to take place last Friday

'At the time I just felt like I couldn’t tell the truth and thought if I could just postpone everything it would be better.’

Mr Blandford's LinkedIn profile lists him as currently having three jobs - as an instructor for a painting tuition company, a designer/carpenter for a Connecticut theatre group and a freelance steel blender.

It also lists his previous jobs as a lifeguard, audio-visual technician, sports coach, art gallery attendant and at a Blockbuster video store. He has also studied at Virginia Commonwealth University.