Bride who was covered in black paint by sister-in-law at wedding speaks out

Antonia Eastwood (left) threw black paint all over her sister-in-law Gemma Monk on her big day (Picture: Cover Images)

The bride who was covered in black paint by her sister-in-law seconds before walking down the aisle has spoken out.

Gemma Monk,35,was seconds away from the happiest moment of her life when her world turned black. As the 35-year-old prepared to walk down the aisle at Oakwood House in Maidstone,she heard her name called. 

When she turned,a thick drench of black paint hit her. The substance splattered her £1,800 white gown,her face,and her eyes in front of horrified wedding guests. 

The attacker was Antonia Eastwood,the wife of Gemma’s older brother,Ashley. Eastwood fled the Victorian mansion immediately,leaving her victim standing in the hallway in a ruined dress. 

Now the bride herself has told the story behind the incident,saying her sister-in-law was acting in revenge after accusing Gemma of trying to trip her up on the day she married Ashley.

Sign up for all of the latest stories

Start your day informed with Metro's News Updates newsletter or get Breaking News alerts the moment it happens.Gemma told the Daily Mail: ‘They got married in September 2023.‘They said nothing to me or Ken on the actual day and to be honest we enjoyed ourselves. We gave them money as a gift and were the first couple to join them on the dance floor.‘But two months later I was shopping in Sainsbury’s when I got a text from Toni. It was straight out of the blue and it left me reeling.‘She called me a ‘two-faced bitch’ and accused me of trying to ruin her wedding day.’Ashley appeared to confirm the family’s bad blood in his own comments,saying he has disowned his sister despite his wife’s attack.He told The Mirror: ‘There’s more to it. But she’s been punished now,she’s suffered more than enough. We want it over and done with.The £1,800 wedding dress was ruined (Picture: Cover Images)‘I can’t believe it’s taken 18 months to get to this.’Despite the ‘spiteful’ assault,the mother-of-two refused to let the sabotage win. She retreated to a changing cubicle to scrub the paint from her skin. An usher was dispatched to find a replacement dress. Although the borrowed gown was too large,Gemma was determined to proceed with the ceremony. She married Ken Monk,her partner of 20 years,just two hours after the attack. ‘Nothing was going to stop me,’ she later told KentOnline. ‘I did not think twice. I would have walked down the aisle in my knickers with black paint over my face if I had to.’ Gemma did manage to walk down the aisle to marry her partner Ken

(Picture: Cover Images)The couple had saved for years for the £8,000 ceremony. Gemma chose the venue because it was where her own birth had been registered. The motive for the attack appears to stem from a toxic family feud that bubbled over a year earlier at Eastwood’s own wedding in Dover. Gemma had been wrongly accused of ‘trying to trip up’ Eastwood during her walk down the aisle.  Neither Eastwood nor her husband – previously Ken’s best friend – were invited to the May 2024 nuptials.  The paint caused more than £5,000 in damage to the registry office and specialist cleaners were unable to save Gemma’s dress,which she had hoped to hand down to her daughter. At Maidstone Crown Court,Gemma read a powerful victim impact statement. She described how the attack had shattered her mental health. ‘To have paint thrown over me by my brother’s wife changed my outlook on life,’ she told the court. ‘I have lost who I used to be.’ Antonia Eastwood,who is married to Gemma’s older brother,Ashley,fled the venue,leaving her splattered victim in tears (Picture: Facebook)The trauma was compounded by the fact that Gemma was undergoing a cancer scare at the time. Eastwood was allegedly aware of the medical issue when she planned the attack. Gemma has since been given the all-clear. However,the emotional toll forced the couple to cancel their dream honeymoon to the Maldives. Prosecutor Pietro Matarazzo noted that Eastwood initially gave a ‘no comment’ interview to police. She later admitted to a probation officer that it was a premeditated revenge attack. Judge Oliver Saxby KC did not hold back his contempt for Eastwood’s actions. He dismissed her claims that the incident was a ‘spur-of-the-moment’ error. ‘You got it into your head that you wanted to wreck her day,’ the judge said. ‘And you did,and it was horrid and nasty and mean.’ The judge acknowledged that while emotions were high,he had to follow sentencing guidelines. He cited prison overcrowding and Eastwood’s previous good character as reasons to suspend the sentence. Eastwood was handed a 10-month prison sentence,suspended for 12 months. She was ordered to complete 160 hours of unpaid work and pay £5,000 in compensation. Gemma,who maintained eye contact with Eastwood throughout the hearing,described the sentence as ‘too light.’ She refused to accept her sister-in-law’s apology. The newlyweds do not celebrate their anniversaries because the date is now tied to the trauma. They plan to renew their vows in the future to create a new,untainted memory.