In a dramatic twist of family dynamics, a UK bride was left drenched in black paint by her sister-in-law, who has now come forward to explain the family feud that led to the impulsive act. Antonia Eastwood, who faced sentencing last week for the incident that occurred in May 2024, spoke candidly to the Daily Mail about the longstanding tensions and jealousy that fueled the attack on bride Gemma Monk.
Eastwood, a 49-year-old hairdresser, expressed her regret over the incident at the Maidstone wedding, describing it as a “spur of the moment” decision. She revealed that the animosity between her and Monk had been simmering for quite some time, tracing its roots back to when she began a relationship with Monk’s brother in April 2023.
The couple’s whirlwind romance led to marriage just five months later, a development that Eastwood claims triggered Monk’s jealousy. According to Eastwood, Monk was troubled by the fact that her own partner of over two decades had not yet proposed.
Eastwood recounted how Monk would frequently visit, bringing up her brother Ash’s former girlfriends. “She would ask, ‘Aren’t you bothered about all those other girls?’” Eastwood shared. Despite her reassurances that she had no qualms about Ash’s past, Eastwood felt that Monk’s behavior was inappropriate. However, she tolerated it, given that Monk was part of her soon-to-be family.
“After that, Gemma started coming round and talking about Ash’s past girlfriends,” she told the outlet.
“She’d say, ‘Aren’t you bothered about all those other girls?’ I kept telling her I wasn’t jealous of Ash’s past. I knew what she was doing wasn’t right, but she was part of my soon-to-be husband’s family.”
Monk, 35, also admitted “bad blood” between them, noting she “didn’t warm to” Eastwood “that much.”
Eastwood claimed her new sister-in-law then set out to sabotage her wedding – with Monk ousting her longtime beau as best man and then trying to trip her as she walked down the aisle.
Monk denied the “ridiculous” tripping attempt, stressing she isn’t tall enough to do it “even if I wanted to,” and pointing to wedding footage that shows Eastwood walking past her “without any incident.”
The bitter fallout escalated further when Monk banned her brother and his new wife from her nuptials a year later – but the pair still showed up.
Eastwood said she intended to give the bride a “piece of my mind,” the outlet reported.
Eastwood then found her daughter’s tub of “child-friendly” black paint in the car upon arriving – which she claims was a coincidence – before hurling it at Monk just moments before she walked down the aisle.
“I saw [Monk] get out of her car – she was a few yards away,” she said.
“Then I just shouted to her and threw the paint. It hit the back of her dress. I don’t know why I did it,” Eastwood added, claiming the cruel payback was a “spur of the moment thing.”
Shocking photos showed the crestfallen bride-to-be with dark, mud-like paint covering the left side of her face and chest and spattered across her white wedding dress.
Monk then grabbed her twisted attacker’s hair before Eastwood bolted and fled with her husband back to Greater Manchester, where the couple lives, the Mail reported.
Remarkably, Monk was able to compose herself, clean up, get a second wedding dress — and tie the knot just two hours later.
“We had waited for that day for so long. Nothing was going to stop me,” Monk said after her sister-in-law was found guilty of criminal damage on April 15.
Eastwood was handed a 10-month prison sentence, suspended for 12 months, the UK equivalent of parole. She was also ordered to do 160 hours of community service.
She said the entire explosive experience has “taken its toll.”
“I had a full-blown panic attack on the day I was sentenced” Eastwood told the outlet, adding she was “petrified” of being locked up.
“I feel ashamed of myself. It’s not me. I’ve never been in trouble with the police before. Ever.”
