The sister-in-law who made headlines in the UK for using black paint to ruin a bride’s wedding day is talking about what happened that led to the viral incident.
Greater Manchester resident Antonia Eastwood, 49, recently spoke to the Daily Mail about being sentenced to 10 months in prison for spoiling Gemma Monk's May 24, 2024, wedding to Ken Monk, citing an alleged long-running family feud.
In an interview that was released on Saturday, April 25, Eastwood told the Daily Mail, “I don’t know why I did it.” The attack, according to her, was a “spur-of-the-moment thing.” Eastwood and Ashley, Gemma's 37-year-old brother, allege that Gemma started the drama.
Ashley claimed that Gemma was jealous of his relationship with Eastwood because Eastwood and Ashley got married in early 2024 after just five months of dating, while Gemma had been with Ken for twenty years without ever getting married.
Gemma finally speaks out on what happened: Bride’s fairytale wedding ruined as sister-in-law doused £1,800 white dress in black paint in revenge attack.
— Grifty (@TheGriftReport) April 19, 2026
Gemma Monk, 35, was just minutes from walking down the aisle at Oakwood House in Maidstone when her sister-in-law hurled black… https://t.co/dYTn0ffse3 pic.twitter.com/rFk6qGYuid
Ashley told the outlet, “It was a jealousy thing, I think, because she wasn’t getting married.” She added, “And she just didn’t want me to be with Toni, either.” Tensions between the four allegedly increased after Ashley and Toni decided on a wedding date.
Additionally, Eastwood stated that Gemma tried to “trip her as she walked down the aisle” during her own wedding to Ashley. According to the Daily Mail, Gemma denied the charges. Ashley and Eastwood were not invited when Gemma and Ken chose their own wedding date, but Eastwood claims she still chose to attend in order to give Gemma a "piece of my mind."
Eastwood claims she found paint from a recent project in her car when she got to the wedding. "It was child-friendly, watered-down black paint in a tub of around 200ml, and it happened to be in the side pocket of the car,” Eastwood claimed.
“I saw her [Gemma] get out of her car. She was a few yards away. Then I just shouted to her and threw the paint. It hit the back of her dress.” The bride paid £1,800, or around $2,436.66, for the dress.
Horrifying moment wedding turns to chaos after bride is splattered in paint pic.twitter.com/uVh1eFT5Tn
— The Sun (@TheSun) April 25, 2026
At least one member of Gemma’s bridal party was also splashed with paint, according to the surveillance footage released by the Daily Mail. The woman told the outlet that the incident resulted in a physical fight before Eastwood and Ashley left.
Eastwood said, “Later I realized I also had a bald patch where the hair had been ripped out of my head.” She was given a 10-year restraining order in addition to the prison term, and she also had to pay roughly $6,750 in compensation, $5,400 to Gemma and $1,350 to the wedding venue.
Eastwood said, “I feel ashamed of myself.” She added, “It’s not me. I’ve never been in trouble with the police before. Ever.” After washing herself up and changing into a new dress, Gemma was still able to attend the wedding almost two hours later.
“We’d waited so long for that day,” Gemma stated. “Nothing was going to stop me. I didn’t think twice. I would have walked down the aisle in my knickers and with black paint over my face if I had to.”
