Cheryl Thomasgood, a 65-year-old woman from the Isle of Wight in Britain, made international headlines after she left her husband and three children to start a new life with a Samburu warrior she met while on holiday in Kenya. Today, she lives quietly in Somerset, reflecting on a past she says changed her life forever — and not entirely for the better.
It all began at the Bamburi Beach Hotel in Mombasa, where Cheryl, then in her fifties, was captivated by a tall, charismatic Kenyan dancer, Daniel Lakimencho, who performed with a cultural troupe entertaining tourists. The whirlwind romance saw Cheryl abandon her comfortable life in the UK to live in a remote manyatta with Lakimencho, embracing a traditional way of life, including eating cabbage mixed with animal blood.
Their union resulted in a daughter, Mitsi, who Cheryl describes as “the one beautiful thing” from the relationship. However, after relocating to the UK together, things took a turn. Cheryl says Lakimencho became obsessed with money and sending it back home, leading to constant arguments and eventual separation.
Now estranged from Lakimencho, Cheryl admits she deeply regrets how her choices hurt her children. “Looking back, I was chasing something I didn’t fully understand,” she says. While she maintains no contact with her ex-husband, she has rebuilt a close bond with her children.
By tuko