My Albanian husband charmed me but he changed the moment we tied the knot and I realised why he’d really married me – so many British women are in the same situation
A divorced mother-of-four says she was scammed for a visa by a ‘very charming’ Albanian illegal immigrant who only married her to get his hands on a UK visa.
Devastated Natasha Chambers, 38, said her dream second marriage turned sour after just a year when her new husband, suddenly lost interest in her and refused to start a family.
Natasha has spoken out to share ‘warning signs’ with other smitten women falling for illegal immigrants who quickly want to wed them as a passport to staying in Britain.
She split up with him before he was deported to Albania in December and is now planning to divorce him.
Speaking exclusively to MailOnline, Natasha, a beautician, said: ‘I’m convinced he only married me to try to get his visa which he didn’t get in the end, I feel I’m a victim here and it is heartbreaking and humiliating.
‘I think I’ve been scammed and it’s very hurtful. I loved my husband so much and I really thought he loved me too, but he didn’t even want to have a baby with me and things changed the moment we got married.
‘I paid everything for him. He lived in my house with my kids but didn’t offer a penny although he was doing cash in hand construction work. I have no idea where his money went.’
Natasha, from Long Eaton, Derbyshire, agreed to tie the knot with the ‘handsome and amazing’ Albanian, eight years her junior, she had met on dating site Badoo and was ‘bowled over’ to help make it easier for him to settle in the UK.
A woman who wed an ‘illegal immigrant’ is claiming she’s worried she was a ‘victim’ who was only used for a visa – and is now sharing ‘warning signs’ with others
Natasha Chambers, 38, who lives in Nottingham took to social media after her one-year marriage to an Albanian man ended
Natasha said she ‘really wasn’t fussed’ about having more babies as she already has four from her previous marriage, but does ‘love children’
She is now reflecting on ‘warning signs’ in hindsight, such as the fact that her husband didn’t introduce her to his family at first, but she met her mother-in-law a few weeks before they get married
Revealing her heartache on social media to warn others after realising ‘how many women are with someone that’s not legal in the UK and they’re not sure whether it’s real or not.’
‘First, I just want to say that I’m not saying all Albanians are the same, I’m not saying all illegal immigrants are the same.
‘But the man I was with seemed to know exactly what to do, he knew all the tricks.
‘I was head over heels in love with him and bowled over and he showered me with love and affection. I was heartbroken when our marriage ended after just a year.
‘Now after some time I feel he used me. He had never financially supported me, I supported him.’
Now Natasha is warning other women in similar position.
The mother-of-four, who is a nurse (pictured), said that the pair initially tied the knot to make it easier for him to settle into the UK
On her TikTok story she said: ‘Maybe some do come over here and fall in love and want to be with that person forever.’
‘I don’t want to say I have proof that he wanted me for a visa, I’m just going on how my marriage and relationship was, how it made me feel and what it made me think.’
She also urged followers to not think that ‘all Albanian people use you for papers.’
But she added: ‘I think a lot of girls are going through the same. They’re with people and they’re not sure it’s genuine.’
Natasha, who has three teenagers and an eight-year-old with her first, 17-year marriage, said she was ‘going through a bit of a bad time’ when she met the Albanian looking for love on a dating website in December 2022.
‘He came along with all his charm and we met in person soon afterwards. He was very tall, dark and handsome with olive skin and we hit it off and he moved in with me and my family.’
‘I knew he was living here illegally. He had been here for five years when I met him and was working in construction with his cousin.’
The couple soon got engaged and married in August 2023 only to split up 14 months later.
She also urged followers to not think that ‘all Albanian people use your for papers’. ‘I think a lot of girls are going through the same,’ she continued
When she met her new beau, he was ‘fantastic’ – and was incredible with all her children as well
In August 2023, the couple got married in a small wedding. Her husband became Natasha’s ‘best friend’ – but after one year of marriage, ‘things changed dramatically’
‘He was deported on December 27. We are in contact and he was very angry that I had posted my story on social media.
‘I am still married to him but will be getting a divorce as soon as I can afford to.’
After they married Natasha discussed having a baby with her new husband.
‘It was then that he completely changed as a person, He had been very attentive and loving before,’ she said.
‘He had been fantastic with the kids at first, he was a godsend and helped a lot, but it all changed very quickly.
‘He had given me his full attention, he was so kind, loyal and was my best friend, and he seemed so genuine.
‘Everything was just perfect. We were very happy.’
But the bliss was not to last, and ‘things changed dramatically.’
She told how her new partner ‘suddenly stopped wanting to do family things’ and lost interest in her children shortly after they married.
‘I wanted to have a child with him and thought a man of his age would want that too, but he said no.
‘It was only when he was having problems getting a visa that he showed an interest in having a baby. But by then it was already too late. I already sensed that I was being scammed.
Natasha stressed that she ‘doesn’t want to make it seem she’s all right and he’s all wrong.
She said: ‘I know people will judge me and say things like, I shouldn’t get with someone that’s not legal. At the end of the day we all do things and we all learn from the things that we do.
‘People are going to have their opinion and that’s fine.
She added: ‘I’m not badmouthing Albanians, I’m not badmouthing illegal immigrants.
‘I’m not proud, it’s quite a personal matter for me to put out there. I think women need to help and support each other.
‘I can’t prove that my husband is using me for a visa. What I have got is my experience. How our relationship was and how things dramatically changed.’
According to the government statistics, Albanians were the top nationality ‘detected arriving by small boat in the year ending September 2022’ with 12,024 arrivals.
However, this number declined to 559 small boat arrivals as of September 2024.
‘The substantial increase in Albanian small boat arrivals in 2022 in part influenced the signing of the agreement in December 2022 between the UK and Albania to deter and disrupt irregular migration and criminal networks,’ the government website said.
Statistics on small boats include those who were detected on their arrival to the UK, those who were ‘detected in the Channel and subsequently brought to the UK’, and those who were ‘suspected of having arrived on a small boat within the previous 72 hours’.
