Gemma Monk, 35, was splashed with black paint by her sister‑in‑law, Antonia Eastwood, moments before her May 2024 wedding in Maidstone, England. Eastwood admitted criminal damage and received a 10‑month prison sentence suspended for 12 months plus 160 hours of community service. Despite the attack, Monk cleaned herself, borrowed a dress and completed the ceremony, but says the incident left her with long‑term depression and unable to work. The couple also cancelled their planned honeymoon as a result.
Bride Doused In Black Paint By Sister‑In‑Law Moments Before Wedding; Attacker Gets Suspended Sentence
Bride’s sister-in-law douses her in black paint moments before ceremony in horrifying ‘revenge’ attack
A British bride says her life has been profoundly affected after her sister‑in‑law doused her in black paint seconds before she was due to walk down the aisle in May 2024. Gemma Monk, 35, a mother of two from Maidstone, England, told Kent Online that the attack — which took place as she walked with her father along a cream carpet at the venue — left her distraught and has contributed to a long struggle with depression.
Gemma Monk was splashed with black paint moments before her May 2024 wedding in England by her sister-in-law amid an ongoing feud. Antonia Eastwood was handed a 10-month jail sentence by a judge, with 12 months suspended, meaning she will be released on parole.(Fox News)
Monk identified the assailant as her brother's wife, 49‑year‑old Antonia Eastwood. According to court reports, Gemma grabbed Eastwood by the hair in the immediate aftermath, but Eastwood managed to flee the scene. Despite being splashed with paint, Monk said she cleaned herself in a changing room, borrowed a dress an usher fetched for her, and went ahead with the ceremony to marry her partner of more than 20 years, Ken Monk.
Antonia Eastwood splashed black paint all over Gemma Monk on her wedding day in a revenge attack. This week she appeared in court over the May 2024 incident.
"We had waited for that day for so long. Nothing was going to stop me," Monk said. "I would have walked down the aisle in my knickers and with black paint over my face if I had to."
Court testimony revealed the attack came amid a longstanding family feud: Eastwood had been banned from the wedding after an earlier dispute at her own nuptials, where Monk was accused of trying to trip her. Monk also told the court she had recently lost significant weight during a cancer scare — she has since been given a clean bill of health — and said Eastwood was aware of her medical struggles at the time.
The bride, who's a mental health worker, has since suffered from depression and has been unable to work.
Eastwood pleaded guilty to two counts of criminal damage. Judge Oliver Saxby sentenced her to 10 months in prison, suspended for 12 months, and ordered 160 hours of community service. Addressing Eastwood in court, the judge said the assault had turned what should have been a special day into a nightmare for the victim and her family.
Judge Oliver Saxby: "This was meant to be a special day for Gemma Monk and her family. Courtesy of your conduct, it turned into a nightmare."
Monk, who works in mental health, said the attack has had a lasting impact: she has battled depression, been unable to return to work for nearly two years, and the couple cancelled a planned honeymoon to the Maldives because she "wasn't up to it." In a statement to the court she said the incident destroyed her dignity and left her questioning whether she had done something wrong.
Monk told reporters she would not accept Eastwood's apology and described the sentence as too lenient. Eastwood's husband, Ashley, had once been the couple's close friend and was the person who introduced Gemma to Ken when she was 14.
Despite the trauma of the attack, Gemma and Ken went ahead with their wedding vows — a decision she says was guided by love and determination to not let the incident define their day.
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