Woman who turned down older man's offer of marriage stunned by itemised £115,000 bill for everything he's ever spent on her

Marie Lacombe says she and Bruce Dusting were only ever good friends

But he says she led him on to get him to loan her more and more cash

Now he says the stress of the 'break up' means he'll never dance again



A woman who turned down a marriage proposal from a well-to-do suitor was shocked when he handed a bill of more than £115,000 for everything he claims to have spent on her.

Single mother Marie Lacombe, 42, from Melbourne, Australia, says she and 65-year-old Bruce Dusting were never romantically involved.

But it seems he felt differently about their relationship, claiming she led him on to extract money from him to fund Zumba classes, shopping trips and even cosmetic surgery.

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Messy: Marie Lacombe, left, 42, who was handed a AU$200,000 bill by Bruce Dusting after she turned down his marriage proposal. He says she led him on but she insists that the pair were never more than good friends



A tearful Mr Dusting told Nine Network's A Current Affair: 'This Marie has just destroyed every thought of humanity that I've had for other people.'

Ms Lacombe met Mr Dusting four years ago when she began teaching him dance. The pair became good friends, with Mr Dusting taking her for dinner and visiting her home regularly.

But things between them turned sour when he asked for her hand in marriage - and she turned him down.

Now he has handed her an itemised bill outlining every single penny he ever gave her or spent on her behalf, which amounts to a hefty AU$200,000 (£116,638).

Fully itemised: Mr Dusting claims he loaned Ms Lacombe money to pay for things including Zumba classes, shopping trips, dental appointments, tupperware, birthday parties and even a tummy tuck and breast implants

Ms Lacombe said things 'took a turn for the worse' after rejecting the proposal from Mr Dusting



Mr Dusting says the payments - of which he has kept careful records and include things like dental appointments, Tupperware and even birthday parties for her children - were all loans.

And he accuses her of playing on his emotions to get more cash out of him. On one occasion, he claims, she asked him to lend her money she needed for emergency surgery.

But when he went to visit her in the hospital, he found that she had got breast implants and a tummy tuck.

Ms Lacombe tells a different story. She insists that despite one loan of AU$25,000 (£14,580), the rest was given to her out of kindness.

She says much of the money he has asked her to return paid for unsolicited gifts, and she flatly denies asking him for the money for her cosmetic surgery.

Furthermore, she says that she worked as his office assistant for four years and never received a penny for her time.

'At the end of the day things took a turn for the worse when I said no to getting married to him,' she said. She believes his billing her for the money is his way of getting revenge for the rejection.

Broken hearted: Mr Dusting met Ms Lacombe when she was his dance teacher. Now, he says, due to the stress and upset that she has caused him, he can never dance again

Whatever the truth, it is clear that Mr Dusting has been deeply hurt by what's happened. He says that, because of all the stress it's caused, he will never dance again.

'I've probably still got the ability within, physically. Mentally I still have the ability,' he said.

