NATIONAL NEWS: Woman left stranded by holiday lover after '˜pull a pig' prank

A woman was left in tears after flying to Amsterdam to be reunited with her holiday lover - only to be told he'd been playing a cruel '˜pull a pig' game.
Sophie Stevenson. Picture: submittedSophie Stevenson. Picture: submitted
Sophie Stevenson. Picture: submitted

Sophie Stevenson was stood up by cruel Dutchman Jesse Mateman, who sent her a message: “You were pigged”.

He added two pig emojis and followed up with another cutting message: “It was all a joke.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Stunned Sophie, 24, broke down as she came to terms with her rejection alone in Amsterdam.

Jesse Mateman (back left) and Sophie Stevenson (back right)Jesse Mateman (back left) and Sophie Stevenson (back right)
Jesse Mateman (back left) and Sophie Stevenson (back right)

Sophie, who had forked out £350 for the trip, managed to reply to him: “How could you be so cruel though!” before she was blocked.

Humiliated bar supervisor Sophie, of Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, had been so excited to be reunited with hunky Jesse, 21.

They had slept together after meeting in Barcelona in August, when they endured the emotional trauma of the terrifying terror attack.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Sophie, who travelled 500 miles to Holland before being brutally dumped, said: “All my friends and family cannot believe someone could be so cruel.

Jesse Mateman (back left) and Sophie Stevenson (back right)Jesse Mateman (back left) and Sophie Stevenson (back right)
Jesse Mateman (back left) and Sophie Stevenson (back right)

“It’s one thing to have a joke, but this goes well beyond banter.”

She and Jesse clicked after being caught up in the Barcelona atrocity which killed 13 people and injured 130, on August 17.

Holed up with their pals in the Pension Solarium - a one minute walk from the attack - the group struck up a relationship and Sophie and Jesse paired off.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

She said: “I went to Barcelona with my friend Michelle and we arrived the day before the terror attack.

“We were staying really close to where the attack happened.

“On that day, we were so lucky, we’d just nipped out to buy some drinks and food and were sitting on the terrace when we started hearing gunshots.

“When we looked over we saw people running everywhere, it was really scary.

“The hotel was on lockdown after that and everything was shut for the day, so we stayed in and that’s when we met Jesse and his three friends.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“We were there for four more days, and felt safe while we were with them, so we hung out loads.

“It was a proper holiday romance for Jesse and me.

“We slept together in Barcelona and when I came back to the UK, we carried on talking every day.

“We talked about having a long distance relationship.”

Back in the UK, Sophie carried on messaging and calling Jesse, and they discussed giving things a go.

The pair planned for her three-day visit and she forked out £350 for a hotel and flights to see her flame.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Sophie booked a flight from Manchester to Amsterdam on September 29.

Jesse was messaging her minutes before her departure - but when she arrived in Amsterdam he ignored her calls.

She said: “We had talked about me coming to visit, and he knew I’d booked flights, that I’d paid for a hotel and he was going to meet me when I arrived at 5pm on Friday.

“We were talking up until I got on the plane. But when I arrived, he wasn’t there to pick me up.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“I called him a bunch of times, and he didn’t answer. I waited at the airport for two hours and I hadn’t heard anything, I was really starting to panic about being abandoned.

“There was a free shuttle bus to the hotel, so I made my way there and six hours later he finally messaged me - on Snapchat.”

Sophie told of her horror at reading how Jesse taunted her with pig and laughing face emoticons.

She said: “’Pulling a pig’ is where a guy tries to pull the fat ugly girl.

“When I saw that message, I wanted to be sick.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“I was in a foreign country, on my own and the guy that I liked had just abandoned me.

“I replied and said ‘how could you be so cruel’ and all he did was block me. I just couldn’t believe it.”

Sophie added: “I had no way of contacting him.

“I was petrified being in Amsterdam all on my own.

“I was so upset about what happened that I changed my flights so I could head home the next morning.

“I am furious that this happened and it’s so dangerous.

“I want people to know what happened to me so that this never happens to anyone else.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Sophie, who has been unable to contact Jesse since the incident, said her friends and family are mortified for her.

She said: “Given the circumstance of how we met, you’d think that he’d be slightly more sensitive.

“I can’t believe this has happened to me.” Jesse did not respond to requests for comment.