They met in Barcelona last summer, where they both sought shelter in the same hotel after the terrorist attack that killed 13 people. But amidst the shock and horror, Sophie Stevenson and Jesse Mateman found each other.
Sophie and Jesse quickly became friends, and in the following days, they went to the beach and had a nice time together. But soon, their friendship developed into something more.
The couple had sex, and by the time it was time to go home, sparks were flying and love was in the air. Or so Sophie thought.
At the end of the vacation, Sophie Stevenson returned to her home in Stoke-on-Trent, England, while Jesse Mateman went home to Amsterdam.
The two kept in touch and talked every day. Jesse said that he had to see Sophie again and would love to meet her in England.
Soon, however, the 21-year-old changed his mind and invited Sophie to Amsterdam instead.
Sophie was overjoyed. She paid £350 ($465) on the trip to meet her new love. Everything seemed like it was going to be wonderful — until Sophie arrived in Amsterdam.
Once at the airport, Sophie realized something wasn’t right. She couldn’t reach Jesse, and after two hours of waiting, she resigned herself to the fact that he wasn’t coming.
Sophie went to her hotel — and then six hours after she landed, she finally received a text message. One that would crush her heart.
Posted by Sophie Stevenson on Sunday, October 23, 2016
It turned out that Sophie had been the victim of a heartless game.
Jesse sent her a text saying “You’ve been pigged” and then blocked her on social media.
The cruel prank is called “pull a pig,” and has become popular among young men. To play the game, guys find a group of women and choose the one they think is the ugliest. Then, they try and “pull” her, to the delight of their friends.
Posted by Sophie Stevenson on Sunday, February 18, 2018
Sophie was crushed and humiliated. She immediately bought a ticket home, and once there, decided to warn other women — and talk to the media about what happened.
“Boys and their friends think it’s funny but they don’t think how scary it is for girls. It wasn’t just being stood up, it was the shock and confusion. I panicked,” Sophie tells ITV. “We shouldn’t stand for this as women. That’s why I decided to name him. I was so embarrassed, but I thought, ‘If I tell people what he’s done, just as a laddy joke, then maybe he’ll realize how awful it is, and it will make other guys think twice before playing these games with women.”
Jesse Mateman first claimed that Sophie made up whole story and that he didn’t have sex with her. Later, however, he changed his story and admitted that they did have sex, but claimed that they didn’t contact each other after Barcelona.
“Mateman wants to emphasize that the text messages as published in the media do not come from him. If Mateman used the word “Pig” in a text message to Stevenson — which he cannot remember — it could only have been sent during his stay in Spain and can only relate to the way in which they had sex,” the man’s lawyer, Yehudi Moszkowicz, wrote in a statement, according to the Daily Mail.
Mateman also says that he’s the real victim because he’s been threatened and received hateful messages because of Sophie’s story.
But Sophie and her mother maintain that Mateman knows she didn’t make anything up.
“At the end of the day, if he wants to live with what he’s saying, we know what’s the truth, and he knows what’s the truth,” Sophie’s mother tells ITV.
Watch Sophie tell the whole story here:
Share if you’re also on Sophie’s side and think that no woman deserves to be treated like this! If there’s someone who’s a pig in this story, it’s definitely not her!
