Man travels 500 miles to meet beauty queen and 'future wife' - then grim truth unravels

A man who thought he had fallen head over heels for a beauty queen was left shocked after he travelled almost 500 miles to meet her and realised he had been catfished.

Michel, 76, from Belgium, thought he was about to meet the 'love of his life,' famous model Sophie Vouzeland. But when he arrived at her home in Saint-Julien, France, he was greeted by her husband, Fabien.

The besotted pensioner declared he was her "future husband", and was stunned when the homeowner responded: "Well, I'm the current one." Michel was under the belief that he had been speaking to the 2007 Miss France runner-up on WhatsApp.

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He was convinced that their connection was real and had even sent a staggering £25,000 as a loan to the woman he believed to be Sophie.

The couple posted a heartbreaking video of the moment on social media, sharing their conversation with the victim in the hopes that others will be more prepared to spot a romance scam. In the clip, Michel said: "I think she played a dirty trick on me. I am an imbecile."

He went on to show Fabien their text exchange. "My wife, no, it's the fake accounts," stressed Fabien. "You have to be very careful." He posted the video onInstagramwith the caption: "I feel so sorry for this man. Watch out for fake accounts. I'm sharing this video to show you it’s real and to be vigilant! Take care of yourself."

Sophie, who is expecting a baby with Fabien, said the incident "hurts my heart". Social media users have since responded to the scam and said it is "scary" that people knew their address. One person said: "Let us all be vigilant! Fake accounts and scams suck."

Another commented: "Poor Sophie in the middle of this being pregnant. Fingers crossed this doesn't happen again and ends well. Cheer up to both of you." In response, Sophie said in the comment section: "Thank you, it's not easy."

A third person wrote: "Oh crazy what a story! poor gentleman. It's horrible to know that there are still people scamming people. I hope it won't happen again and that you can live your life peacefully."

Another person said: "The danger of social networks. But I'm surprised how he could get your address. It's absolutely not normal." Someone else chimed in: "And he had the address. This is scary."