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‘Jilted John’ has a baby with the woman who left him five weeks before wedding


Oliver is just twelve weeks old (Picture: Dave Evitts / SWNS)

Back in 2015, John Whitbread hit the headlines after being jilted not-quite-at-the-altar by Amy Jackson.

The couple had been engaged for a year and were due to marry on Valentine’s Day before Amy got cold feet five weeks before the wedding.

This prompted John to post an advert online looking for someone to share his ‘honeymoon’ with him, as the trip to the Dominican Republic was non-refundable and he was keen to recoup some of the money he’d spent.

John became known as ‘Jilted John’ after his story gained traction, and he ended up on Good Morning Britain with the stranger who’d been picked for him, named Kelly.

Sadly John and Kelly didn’t end up together, but there is a happy ending. Fast-forward five years and John could not be happier after he and Amy rekindled their romance.

They have even welcomed son Oliver 12 weeks ago, who joins Amy’s daughter, Daisy Perry, 11, from a previous relationship.

And after John proposed last year, the Measham couple are now set to tie the knot for real.

John met Kelly for the first time at the airport (Picture: Good Morning Britain)

They even went back to where the drama all began for the proposal, as John got down on one knee on ITV’s Good Morning Britain.

Photographer Amy explained she instantly regretted ending the relationship. The 29-year-old said: ‘It all happened so quickly when we first got together.

‘Within a month we’d moved in together and got engaged quickly. There were lots of pressures. It all happened too soon and I got cold feet. I thought I wasn’t ready for it – I’d not lived my life enough.

‘How I handled it was wrong. It was when I was getting Daisy ready for school I saw my face on TV and the story was on the radio. It just reinforced I’d made a mistake, but when the media got involved, there was no going back.’

The backlash for Amy was difficult. She had wanted to meet up with John to talk things through, but he wasn’t keen. Then, once the story hit the media she began getting death threats from members of the public.

Attention continued to pick up for John’s honeymoon plans, and 155 of the £10 raffle tickets John had advertised to pick his holiday partner sold to 125 women, with Kelly Wood, from Suffolk winning the dream trip.

John and Kelly had a good time on the ‘honeymoon trip’ but did not get together afterwards. John also donated the money he raised from the raffle tickets – £1,420 – to the testicular cancer
charity Balls to Cancer as he said at the time that people told him he ‘had balls’ for going on honeymoon with a complete stranger.

The family are now happier than ever (Picture: SWNS)

After the press died down, John and Amy didn’t speak for two years but eventually got back in touch via Facebook.

They initially had told themselves they wouldn’t get back together, bt as time passed, they realised they were ‘meant to be together’.

Amy said: ‘When it’s meant to be it’ll always find a way. I never thought four years ago we’d be back together with a family. It wasn’t easy as he was really hurt. We had to be really honest and build it up from scratch.’

They’re getting used to having a new baby (Picture: Dave Evitts / SWNS)

Their proposal on New Year’s Eve 2017 at their favourite restaurant was meticulously thought-out by John, and they plan to start arranging the big day next year.

In the meantime, they’re getting on with looking after Oliver and being parents to a new baby.

John, 37, said: ‘It’s really nice and everyone’s happy for us. It is like a film really. My dad, who’s not the emotional type, watches the proposal now and again and he gets choked up.

‘It’s really hard being a dad. It’s not easy, but you just do whatever you think’s right. You have to work together as a team.’

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