Woman who sold her belongings to fly 3,200 miles to marry secret 'love rat' insists: "I'm glad it happened"
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A woman who planned to fly 3,200 miles to marry at first sight - before her fiancé was allegedly exposed as a love rat - says she is "stronger" than ever.
Evangelina Tsa was set to travel from her Hertfordshire home to Ontario, Canada, on Valentine's Day 2016 to wed her online lover, Darryl Fancey.
The 41-year-old planned to marry Darryl - whom she had never met - at the airport after he reportedly popped the question on Facebook .
But despite selling her belongings, the wedding didn't take place after she said her lover was secretly dating other women - a claim he denies.
Now, exactly 12 months on from her planned move, Evangelina has revealed she is "grateful" for the difficult events that unfolded last year.
She says she has transformed her life - and even her appearance - through employing a "positive attitude, willpower and determination".
(Photo: Evangelina Tsa)
(Photo: Facebook)
Part of this transformation has seen her focus on her music career. This week, she released a dance single for Valentine's Day, titled 'He Ain't Mine'.
She has another single, produced by Pete Hammond, coming out on February 31 - and her album, titled 'For The Record', is set to be released later this year.
Speaking to Mirror Online, Evangelina said her life has changed so much that she even looks "completely different" to how she did last year.
"Looking back, I feel embarrassed about it," she said of her plans to marry Darryl and her shocking "realisation" he was allegedly a love rat.
"I have definitely come out of it a stronger person. I'm really grateful I had the experience. Stuff like that does make you stronger."
Last year, Darryl - who is now in another relationship - took to Facebook to deny his relationship, engagement and wedding to Evangelina.
He wrote: "I heard this rumour yet chose to keep my silence in hopes that this
madness would soon pass.”
(Photo: Evangelina Tsa/Jade Watkins Photography)
This prompted Evangelina to release a photo of an engagement ring her lover apparently bought her, as well as several text mesages.
At the time, the singer had recently given notice on her flat and sold her possessions in a bid to raise enough money for the one-way flight to Canada.
But today, she feels like a "different person".
"It all seems like yonks ago now," she said, describing how she believes she was "naive and stupid" at the time she agreed to marry Darryl.
"We were friends on Facebook for some time.
"I only added him as a friend when he sent me a request.
"He looked like my ex-boyfriend from years ago.
"Because I thought it was my ex, I replied to his message."
Evangelina claimed that, as well as exchanging messages on Facebook, she spent hundreds of pounds speaking on the phone to Darryl.
"We spoke on the phone every day and he would send me photos," she said.
Speaking about her plans to fly 3,200 to marry her lover, she said she was planning to travel to America anyway to record her album there.
(Photo: Evangelina Tsa)
So when Darryl, 39, allegedly sent her a Facebook message asking her to marry him, she quickly agreed and made plans to travel to his home country.
"He lived just on the border of America," she explained.
Speaking previously to The Sun , she added: "When he sent me a Facebook message asking me to marry him I said 'yes' in a heartbeat."
Evangelina sold her belongings, including her piano, bed, sofa and TV, and gave notice on her flat as she prepared to move across the world.
It was only weeks before the wedding that she became aware of allegations that her fiancé, from Guelph, was dating other women behind her back.
By then, Darryl had allegedly become increasingly "distant".
"I was getting all these messages from these different women warning me against him," Evangelina told Mirror Online. "They said he was a cheat.
"At first I thought they were trouble makers."
She added that, when she confronted Darryl over the worrying messages, he initially "tried to blame" them on jealous ex-girlfriends.
(Photo: Jade Watkins Photography)
(Photo: Jade Watkins Photography)
"We'd been talking several times a day. I thought we were really close," she said.
"I couldn't believe it".
Despite her shock, a year on, Evangelina, from Stevenage, says she is thankful for her experience - because she is a stronger person.
The singer-songwriter, who released her first album independently in 2009, is raising money for charity through her new "upbeat dance" track.
She said: "I want to donate 10 per cent of sales to Variety, the Children's Charity , which supports sick, disabled and disadvantaged children.
"Before I gave up my day job to commit to this new album with Pete, I was a school teacher for special educational needs children for 20 years."
She added: "I have been singing for years.
"From a really young age, it felt like my calling."
Evangelia, who started off singing in bands before eventually making the decision to go solo, released her first album in 2009.
(Photo: Facebook)
She then had a short break, for personal reasons, before working on her new single and upcoming album, which features 10 songs.
"Pete [Hammond] and I are both excited about this new album," said the singer, who is fundraising to help her produce her music.
"When I was writing the songs, I wasn't writing them for the purpose of publishing them. It was my way of dealing with my feelings."
As well as making music, Evangelina has been on a number of dates over the past year. She was even in a relationship for several months.
"I decided, in the end, it would be best to call it a day," said the singer, who has her own website , as well as Facebook and Twitter pages.
"I'm very happy with being single.
"I'm so busy with my music. I'm not desperate at all to be with someone."
(Photo: Jade Watkins Photography)
She added that her new track, He Ain't Mine', is available on iTunes , Spotify and Amazon , as well as other digital stores.
When asked about his alleged relationships with other women last year, Darryl said: "I don't believe she would say that, I'm not prepared to comment."
In his Facebook post denying his relationship and planned marriage to Evangelina, he added: "As this woman - Evangelina - seems to be hellbent on furthering her career and gaining media recognition at the expense of my reputation, I have found it necessary to come forth and let it publicly be known that this rumour is absolutely false and there is no such engagement nor wedding to take place."
Mirror Online has contacted Darryl for comment.