Woman left stranded by holiday fling after cruel 'pull a pig' prank

A young British woman was left in tears after flying to Amsterdam to be reunited with her holiday love - only to be told he'd been playing a cruel '˜pull a pig' game

Sophie Stevenson was stood up by cruel Dutchman Jesse Mateman, who sent her a text message reading “you were pigged”.

He added two pig emojis and followed up with another cutting message: “It was all a joke.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Stunned Sophie, 24, broke down as she came to terms with her rejection alone in Amsterdam after she had forked out £350 for the trip.

She managed to reply: “How could you be so cruel though!” before she was blocked.

Humiliated bar supervisor Sophie, of Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, had been so excited to be reunited with hunky Jesse, 21. They had slept together after meeting in Barcelona in August, when they were caught up in the terrorist attack.

Sophie, who travelled 500 miles to Holland before being brutally dumped, said:

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“All my friends and family cannot believe someone could be so cruel. It’s one thing to have a joke, but this goes well beyond banter.”

She and Jesse clicked after being caught up in the Barcelona atrocity which killed 13 people and injured 130, on August 17. Holed up with their pals in the Pension Solarium - a one minute walk from the attack - the group struck up a relationship and Sophie and Jesse paired off.

“I went to Barcelona with my friend Michelle and we arrived the day before the terror attack. We were staying really close to where the attack happened.

“On that day, we were so lucky, we’d just nipped out to buy some drinks and food and were sitting on the terrace when we started hearing gunshots. When we looked over we saw people running everywhere, it was really scary.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“The hotel was on lockdown after that and everything was shut for the day, so we stayed in and that’s when we met Jesse and his three friends. We were there for four more days, and felt safe while we were with them, so we hung out loads. It was a proper holiday romance for Jesse and me. We slept together in Barcelona and when I came back to the UK, we carried on talking every day.

“We talked about having a long distance relationship.”

Back in the UK, Sophie carried on messaging and calling Jesse, and they discussed giving things a go. The pair planned for her three-day visit and she forked out £350 for a hotel and flights to see her flame.

Sophie booked a flight from Manchester to Amsterdam on September 29. Jesse was messaging her minutes before her departure - but when she arrived in Amsterdam he ignored her calls.

“We had talked about me coming to visit, and he knew I’d booked flights, that I’d paid for a hotel and he was going to meet me when I arrived at 5pm on Friday. We were talking up until I got on the plane. But when I arrived, he wasn’t there to pick me up.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“I called him a bunch of times, and he didn’t answer. I waited at the airport for two hours and I hadn’t heard anything, I was really starting to panic about being abandoned. There was a free shuttle bus to the hotel, so I made my way there and six hours later he finally messaged me - on Snapchat.”

Sophie told of her horror at reading how Jesse taunted her with pig and laughing face emoticons.

“ ’Pulling a pig’ is where a guy tries to pull the fat ugly girl. When I saw that message, I wanted to be sick. I was in a foreign country, on my own and the guy that I liked had just abandoned me. I replied and said ‘how could you be so cruel’ and all he did was block me. I just couldn’t believe it.

“I had no way of contacting him. I was petrified being in Amsterdam all on my own. I was so upset about what happened that I changed my flights so I could head home the next morning. I am furious that this happened and it’s so dangerous.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“I want people to know what happened to me so that this never happens to anyone else.”

Sophie, who has been unable to contact Jesse since the incident, said her friends and family are mortified for her. She said: “Given the circumstance of how we met, you’d think that he’d be slightly more sensitive. I can’t believe this has happened to me.”

Jesse did not respond to requests for comment.