Megan Clarke was just two months away from saying ‘I do’ when she realised her whole relationship was a lie.
It all began like a fairytale. A handsome young man walked into her workplace, a bar, on a quiet weeknight and made his romantic intentions clear.
At the time, Megan was enjoying being young and single while living in the Isle of Wight. Settling down wasn’t high on her agenda in 2017. But when Lord Bertie Underwood introduced himself, things quickly changed.
His wooing was hard for Megan to ignore. Flowers would arrive at her work. Expensive gifts purchased at Harrods would regularly be handed over. Luxurious date nights in London and long drives in his Bentley car were commonplace.
‘He was charming, kind, thoughtful, loving. A real gentleman,’ Megan told Metro. After one month, she moved into his three-storey seafront home, making it her own by framing their selfies and scattering them throughout.
On their first Christmas day together, Bertie proposed with a Cartier diamond ring. He told Megan she’d have a Lady title if she wished. The whirlwind romance was moving fast, but Megan was happy to be swept up.
She joined his watch-selling business after he asked her to leave the bar. Megan loved her job, but she loved Bertie more, so carried out his wish. She believed they were working on something big together.
Now, she doesn’t know if any aspect of their love story was real. ‘I think he’s one of those people who genuinely can’t love anyone,’ Megan, 27, summarised, with a sadness in her voice.
The unravelling
After 18 months together things unravelled rapidly. When letters that weren’t addressed to either of them arrived at their home, Megan asked questions. He would explain it away, telling her that they were for previous tenants.
Something inside of Megan told her to investigate, which led to an office search. She found multiple cards under different names. He shut her down once again when she made enquiries.
Megan decided to start googling names and was stunned to discover that her ‘Bertie’ was actually called Robert Madejski. His mug shot filled her screen, along with details of his previous conman convictions.
His aristocratic backstory, posh accent, job as a horologist (someone who makes, designs, and fixes watches) and pretty much everything he’d told her was a work of fiction. Even her ring was a fake. His request to never post him on social media suddenly made perfect sense. He was hiding from many people.
When people ask her why she didn’t look into his story earlier, she has a simple explanation: ‘I’m a trusting person until people give me a reason not to, and he was good at what he did. He never slipped up.
‘He would make up tiny irrelevant lies to back up the big lies. For instance, he told me how he’d found our floorboards in a London studio and installed them during a renovation. He didn’t even own the house, it was a rental.
‘Also, Bertie said his great-grandad invented the Underwood typewriter, and he had pictures of the appliance displayed on the walls. It was completely made up.’
When Megan confronted Robert, who she still refers to as Bertie during the interview, he didn’t offer any real answers. He then disappeared leaving Megan ‘heartbroken’ and tasked with cancelling their wedding day.
Romance scams on the rise
Although Megan’s case is extreme, unfortunately, scams aren’t rare. Recent research by Citizens Advice found that nine million people were caught out by them in the UK last year.
Con artists have long taken advantage of worries, needs, desires, and kindness. Therefore, it’s unsurprising that romance scams are one of the most common ways to deceive.
A romance scam involves the trickster going to great lengths to gain the trust of their victim and convince them that they are in a genuine relationship. As well as the significant financial losses – the average loss per person who fell victim was £10,774 – there is also a psychological impact. Those who are targeted have lost a partner and support system after being callously manipulated.
The National Fraud Intelligence Bureau reports that cases rose 8.4% from last year. They predict this isn’t even the whole picture as embarrassment can often stop people coming forward.
‘We know romance fraud is a heavily underreported crime so it is likely to be significantly more widespread,’ said Detective Superintendent Oliver Little, from the City of London Police. ‘We encourage everyone to come forward if they think they could be a victim.
‘There is no shame in telling your story, as it is through this sharing of intelligence that can really help us learn about the tactics used and, ultimately, catch those responsible.’
The aftermath of betrayal
Megan decided to post about her experience on social media to warn others. She quickly received messages from people claiming they had also been involved romantically with Robert. ‘Every single person he’s done this to and had sexual relationships with have been different. There is absolutely no pattern in type, gender, or age, which makes me think there weren’t real feelings ever involved.’ Part of his scam was using Grindr to find men. One man was tricked into letting him sell a watch on his eBay account. He took the money but didn’t send it. It was the victim, not Robert who received threatening messages.
Robert left Megan with around £30,000 of debt after setting up credit cards in her name. The Police Action Fraud team were contacted, but there wasn’t much they could do to help, so Megan began a photography business and worked hard to pay it off. She still receives bills to this day.
Her former partner was arrested for unrelated fraud charges, but absconded from HMP Ford in May 2022, midway through his five-year sentence. This is why Megan is taking part in Channel 4 documentary, Love Cheats. She hopes that by getting his face out there, he can be caught quicker.
‘Without a single doubt in my mind, I know he will be doing exactly the same thing to somebody else right now, and they will be completely oblivious as to who he is. I hope getting his face out there will lead to him being found,’ she stated.
Megan was naturally fearful when she heard that Robert was on the run. ‘When he was in prison that was the only time I knew where he was, so it’s unsettling now. I would freeze if I did see him,’ she predicted.
Rebuilding her life
It has taken a while for Megan to build herself back up, both financially and emotionally. Her coping mechanism has been throwing herself into work, even accepting a wedding booking on the date she was supposed to become a wife.
Megan started dating again around a year after Robert but is currently single after the end of another long-term relationship. Due to her experiences, Megan wants to stay this way. ‘I am still very much a happy and positive person who will give anybody the time of day, but I am aware of what people are capable of,’ she emphasised.
‘I would rather spend my time on work, my two doggies, and my close group of girlfriends. They were there when I met Bertie and are still here eight years later.’
It’s only now that she has started therapy, which was provided by Channel 4. She has finally taken time to process the ‘completely insane scenario’, something she never did in the immediate aftermath. Part of the reason she didn’t speak about the painful chapter of her life was due to embarrassment.
‘Dealing with a breakup is hard, but realising you weren’t in love with a real person is something I still struggle to get my head around,’ she shared.
‘The chaos and trauma of him disappearing, then just having to go on being normal, and forget what I went through was really bizarre.’
Megan is still not sure how Robert envisaged things ending with her. She points out that only he can answer that question. However, Megan is certain he never intended to get married, as it would be impossible with a fake name.
After what he’s put her through, Megan is not sure she’ll ever walk down the aisle. However, the natural optimist quickly added: ‘Maybe I will feel differently if I am in love again one day. We will see what the future holds.’
Love Cheats is available to watch on Channel 4.
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