a grand mum of 8 falls in love with her ex husband's bro

A divorced gran-of-eight has fallen for
the brother of her previous lover from
Gambia.Deborah,54 caught the eye of the
A-Team’s lead dancer David Tarawallie
while on an exotic trip to The Gambia.
Aged just 33 he was almost two decades
Deborah’s junior. She says:
“I had been single for nine years and
was hugely flattered that someone as
young and attractive as David was
paying me attention.
“Having so many compliments from a
man 20 years younger wasn’t something
I was used to. It was nice to feel that fizz
of excitement and attraction again.“We
had a wonderful time.
And I laughed off David’s declarations of
love, thinking it was just going to be a
silly holiday romance and he’d forget all
about me when I got home. I was sure
he’d find someone younger and hotter as
soon as I left.”

When it was time to return home to
Swindon, Wilts, after the trip in
December 2010, David wept and once
again confessed his love for her.
“I couldn’t believe how attached I was
after only a few days. We promised to
keep in touch and I booked another trip
to Africa for a few months later.”
At home, Deborah was in constant
contact with David via text. But as her
next visit drew closer, he started
panicking about where they would stay
as he lived in shared lodgings.
Deborah adds: “He asked me for money
to rent a house for us. I said I’d be
happy to pay for a hotel but he insisted
and I loved him so went along with it. I
didn’t like the idea of him being in
lodgings.”
Deborah started sending her lover £400
a month for the rent and stayed with
him at the house in the coastal town of
Serrekunda whenever she visited over
the next three years.
During one of her five trips she met his
brother Issa, then a 22-year-old ­
professional footballer in the country.
She says: “Issa was so easy to talk to and
such a caring guy. He was so open with
me. I’d been worried David was hiding
things from me and Issa’s openness ­
highlighted that.
Sometimes he would be really hard to get
hold of, it was like he’d disappeared off
the grid when I returned to England.
Then he’d get back in touch like nothing
had happened and never really told me
what he’d been up to, just that he was
busy.”
Deborah brushed her fears aside but
back at home received a rushed phone
call from David.
She explains: “He told me his mum was
sick and he needed money to visit her in
Sierra Leone."I hadn’t met any of his
family apart from Issa, and of course I
didn’t want to keep him away from his
mother in her hour of need, so I sent
him some extra cash straight away.”
David went quiet for a few weeks, but
Deborah assumed he was busy caring for
his mum and didn’t want to disturb him.
When she finally heard from him on
New Year’s Eve 2013 she was excited –
but he was only after more cash.
She says: “He said his mum was ill again
and he needed to go back. He asked for
more money then told me I’d always be
in his heart and he’d always love me.
“As I realised what he was telling me my
heart broke in two. I said goodbye
through tears and the line went dead. I
knew I’d never hear from him again.
Desperate for answers, Deborah called
him over the next few days but there was
no answer and he didn’t respond to her
texts. Days later, she received a message.
“He said his family said the age gap was
too big and he was sorry. That was it.
Again, I tried calling and texting but got
nowhere.”
Remembering how open Issa had been,
Deborah called him and was shocked
when he revealed their mother wasn’t ill
and David had broken all ties with the
family and disappeared.
A few days later the mystery was solved
when a woman in Britain named
Michelle called Deborah on her mobile.
She adds: “She told me she was David’s
wife and I was knocked for six. They’d
wed two years before I’d met him so I’d
been his other woman the whole time.
"Whenever I was in the UK, he’d been
with her. She even sent me photos of
them together to prove her story. I felt so
foolish.”
Reeling, Deborah finally accepted it was
time to cancel her next visit. But when
she mentioned it to Issa, he persuaded
her to make the trip and stay with him
instead.
She says: “I thought he was the perfect
person to help me through the break-up
as he knew David so well.
“And it was a good way to say goodbye
to the place I’d fallen in love with.”
As she poured out her heart to Issa, he
confessed he’d known about his
brother’s wife but had been unsure how
to tell Deborah the truth.
One evening Issa leant towards Deborah
as they chatted and kissed her – marking
the beginning of their relationship.
She says: “At first I felt guilty for falling
for David’s brother. But as time went on
I accepted David had been using me and
what Issa and I had was real.”
Back home, Deborah’s family, including
her two daughters, were sceptical.
She says: “They didn’t trust him. But as
time went on they realised he wasn’t
after my money and accepted him.”
After two happy years, Issa proposed on
the beach during one of Deborah’s visits
and asked for her hand in marriage.
She says: “I was so happy. I’d thought
David was my ‘one’ when all along it was
Issa.”

The couple set a date for March this year,
but after five visits to the Gambia the
25-year age gap began to show.
Deborah explains: “Issa was two years
younger than my youngest daughter and
seemed very immature so I finally
realised it wasn’t going to work.
"I broke the news on the phone and Issa
told me he was devastated because I was
his first love.
“My heart felt Issa was right, but in my
head I knew it wasn’t so I felt better once
I’d finished it. Now I’m back home and
wiser.”
But while Deborah may have been ­
heartbroken by her two failed romances,
it doesn’t seem to have put her off.
“Issa and David haven’t scared me off
toyboys” she says.
“Who knows, maybe one day I’ll find the
right one for me?”