a whirlwind romance quickly turned into a nightmare for a british grandmother who married a man 20 years her junior in the gambia anne marie, 52, from warwickshire, met husband omar on a night out when he was in the uk on a student visa at the time, she was 41 with two children from a previous relationship and he was 21 'he was handsome and charismatic, he said he'd treat me like a queen and i would never want for anything he told me everything i wanted to hear,' she told channel 5 show love rats abroad anne marie, now 52, from warwickshire, met husband omar when she was 41 and he was 21  she said omar persistently text and called her after they first met so, in the end, she thought 'why not' and started dating him not long after they had been together, he suggested he move into her family home as he couldn't afford the rent on the place where he had been living then as his student visa neared its expiration date, they decided to get married just months after they had first met 'he had come to the country on a student visa, he hadn't been able to finish the course, he needed to send money back home, otherwise people wouldn't be able to eat i admired him for staying and doing what he had been doing to keep his family going,' anne marie said 'i entered into the relationship besotted and in love, it was dream' after a whirlwind romance, the couple married in the gambia  anne marie's son joe, who was ten when they got together, said their relationship did seem to move quickly he said: 'i was young so i didn't know about relationships but it felt quick i went from seeing him a couple of times a week to him always there and staying' anne marie and omar travelled to his native the gambia to marry in 2006   but she said she immediately regretted it 'on my wedding day it was a wonderful day but i had doubts in the back of my mind, i was thinking 'am i doing the right thing?' anne marie said omar had been charming and charismatic before they tied the knot  'the day after we married we had argument, his eyes were bulging, he put his face in mine and said 'you are my wife now, you do as you're told' i was frightened, i thought 'what have done? i think i've made a big mistake'' anne marie said omar was aggressive and violent when they returned to the uk and spoke of one harrowing incident   which he denies   when she said he whipped her with a belt she said: 'he held me to the floor and he took his belt off whipped me over and over on the top of my thigh i was crying screaming and begging for him to stop and he carried on i asked 'is this how you control your girlfriends?' and he shouted 'yes' back to me' anne marie said omar put her under pressure to take out loans so he could send money back to his family in the gambia as a result, she racked up debts of £15,000 she said life with omar was 'awful' with 'spiralling debts' and constant arguments but the marriage lasted for five years before he left following the breakdown of her marriage, anne marie is now £16,000 in debt  now a grandmother of one, she said she hadn't seen him since and is desperate to track him down so he can help her pay off her debts and she can get a divorce she said: 'i was with this man for a long time and i have debts i can't pay i want to find him and see if i can get money from him as half of the debts are his 'before i met omar my credit rating was good now at the rate i am playing it back,  it will take 17 years to clear the debt' as the loans were taken out in anne marie's name, she would have to prove she was coerced into taking them out for the debts to be written off she said: 'unless i can find out where he is, i can't recover it, i can't even divorce him as i can't serve him the papers' channel 5 was able to get a statement from omar who admitted his marriage had been violent at times but he denied the allegation that he had whipped his wife with a belt he said he never forced anne marie to take out loans and as far as he is concerned, they are divorced   as he said he secured this in the gambia in 2012 love rats abroad is on channel 5 thursday at 9pm 
anne marie 52 omar a night uk 21 months later gambia 15,000 five years
anne marie, 52, met husband omar on a night out in the uk . he was staying in the uk on a student visa . at the time, she was 41 with two children and he was 21 . 'he was handsome and charismatic,' she said . months later he moved in with her and then they married in the gambia . after tying the knot, she said he changed and became aggressive . alleges he made her take out loans that left her £15,000 in debt . 'awful' marriage lasted five years before omar left 