Headline

UK Man Opens Up On How Wife Took Her Own Life Seven Months After Marriage

Published

4 months ago

August 9, 2025

The day before New Year’s Eve, Joseph Dewey hung up the phone, unaware it was the last time he would ever hear his wife Cate’s voice.

Shortly after Christmas, Joseph had left the flat he shared with Cate to spend the day with friends. She was preparing a three-course dinner for their upcoming New Year’s Eve party and had asked him to pick up some fresh pasta.

While out, he missed a call from her. The reception was poor, and he couldn’t quite make out what she was saying on the voicemail. Still, he had no idea it would be her final message.

Their love story unfolded like something from a romantic movie. Bored and out of work during the Covid-19 lockdown, actor and director Joseph joined Hinge, where Cate was one of the first people he matched with.

He asked her about her favourite film—Legends of the Fall, which he hadn’t seen—so they watched it together but separately, chatting over WhatsApp about the music, the scenery, and her favourite scenes from their respective homes.

They didn’t know it then, but cinema would become a central thread in their relationship.

Their first date was the next day—over Zoom. Joseph sprayed on cologne unnecessarily, and as soon as they logged on, they realised they had just been watching the same show: Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares.

“We were on the same wavelength from the start,” says Joseph, 37, speaking from Cate’s flat in Ware, Hertfordshire, with their wedding photos behind him.

“Cate was the most beautiful person in the world. She lit up every room. She was really fun, such a foodie, an amazing cook and just an absolutely loving person. She was the most extroverted introvert. She loved going out and being around people, but then she loved hiding in her room playing Sims.”

Five months after meeting, Cate moved from Ware into Joseph’s London flat. With restrictions still in place, they spent Christmas alone—Joseph cooked turkey while Cate played on her new PlayStation game. The next day, snow began to fall.

“I suggested we went for a walk and we found ourselves standing outside the London Eye in the middle of the day in the snow, with no one around. It was just magical,” Joseph recalls. “I knew then that Cate was the woman I wanted to marry.”

But as Covid restrictions eased, Cate’s lifelong struggle with mental illness began to resurface.

“She always said she had a brain funk, but didn’t really delve into it,” Joseph explains. He started noticing her panic attacks and realised something deeper was wrong.

“The respite of the pandemic enabled her to almost feel as if she could breathe again through that time. And when the world started to open up again, you could just see that it was a struggle for her. She’d find everything very overwhelming.”

In 2023, Joseph arranged a fairytale proposal—inside the King’s Gallery, after asking a friend at Kensington Palace to close it for the occasion. Cate said yes immediately, and the couple started planning a cinema-themed wedding.

By May 2024, when they married at Screen on the Green in Islington, Cate had already spent nearly a year on an NHS waiting list for therapy. The panic attacks persisted, but their wedding day brought peace.

“She was the calmest I’ve ever seen her on that day. I was an absolute wreck. And she was like, ‘I’ve got you.’ I will always thank her for the happiest day of my life. We had such a good day,” Joseph says.

After the wedding, they went to other friends’ ceremonies and enjoyed a honeymoon in Turkey. But when they returned, Cate’s mental health deteriorated.

“She had tremendous anxiety and was having panic attacks,” Joseph says. “First of all, I would think: ‘Oh my god. What do you need, what can I do?’ But that is completely the wrong thing to do. You learn it is about being with them, distraction techniques, breathing next to them heavily so they can hear your breath and get into a rhythm themselves and having no questions, no shame, no blame about what was happening.”

Joseph began researching everything he could to help her. He suspects Cate may have had undiagnosed ADHD—she would oscillate between intense energy and total exhaustion.

In 2024, she was prescribed antidepressants. Still waiting for NHS therapy, her family eventually paid for private support.

“She was flying high in her career, working as an administrator at the Food and Drink Federation and they absolutely adored her. She was so good at the job, but sometimes she’d work from home, because going into the office would give her anxiety.”

“If we went out and if it was too busy, she would have panic attacks where she would literally be on the floor struggling to breathe, which would then trigger depression. Cate just looked so sad and tired and would spend a lot more time inside.”

Despite this, Christmas was a joyful time. They spent it with loved ones and made big plans for the future.

“We were going to move back to Ware to get out of central London. We were thinking about buying in Tunbridge Wells. We wanted to own a little cabaret space and Cate wanted to get a bridal shop called Catherine’s. We were going to get a dog, and start a family.”

Joseph hoped that once therapy and an ADHD assessment were underway, things would improve. Cate had mentioned suicidal thoughts—he feared they were a side effect of her medication—so they returned to the GP for support.

But then, on December 30, after a day spent apart, Joseph got a call from Cate’s mum asking where her daughter was.

They soon discovered Cate had checked herself into a B&B and ended her life.

The days that followed were a blur. Joseph was in shock. “Cate’s mum called and said, ‘Cate’s gone.’ And I went: ‘Where’s she gone?’ And she was like, ‘No, honey, Cate’s gone.’”

Cate had left a letter each for her mum and sister, and a voicemail for Joseph: an apology, saying she couldn’t do it anymore.

“She’d just had enough,” Joseph says. “Cate never wanted suicide. No one does – they just want the pain to stop.”

Amid his grief, Joseph was left to organise a funeral he never imagined for someone so young. “Funerals are geared for older people,” he says. Designing her service and montage was surreal. Official letters that followed were “full of cold language” about her death.

In one year, Joseph attended four weddings and a funeral. “If our story were a film, there would be a resolution. A happy ending. But this is real life,” he says.

Determined to turn pain into purpose, Joseph held a cabaret concert in May. Friends composed scores from Cate’s voice notes. On August 10—Cate’s 32nd birthday—loved ones will run a 10km race. In September, Joseph will walk 70 miles through London in Cate’s memory for Suicide Prevention Day.

He expects they’ll raise £25,000 for suicide prevention charity PAPYRUS by year’s end.

“It’s so important to speak about suicide, and if I can shine Cate’s light through talking about it, then that’s exactly what I want to do,” Joseph says. “Suicide is such a big killer, especially for the under-35s. Men’s mental health is being spoken about, but I don’t know if enough people speak up about young women dying from suicide, and unfortunately, that rate is going up.”

Joseph hopes openness can save lives. “Cate, my wife, dying – I want no one to experience that at such a young age. I miss her incredibly. Speaking about suicide doesn’t make the suicide rate go up. It actually does the opposite. So I want to use Cate’s voice to get people talking – and listening. People are suffering and if we don’t check in with each other, you don’t know what people are up to behind closed doors.”

“And if you are struggling, go and speak to your GP. Go and call the Hope Line. Tell your friends and family. You don’t have to go through this alone.”

(METRO)

Headline

Aircraft Crashes In Owerri With Four Persons Onboard

Published

11 hours ago

December 17, 2025

Editor

Photo: File copy

A Cessna 172 aircraft with registration number 5N-ASR, operated by Skypower Express, has crashed at the Sam Mbakwe International Cargo Airport, Owerri, Imo State.

The aircraft had departed Kaduna International Airport en route to Port Harcourt International Airport before diverting to Owerri after the crew declared an emergency.

The crash occurred at about 8:00 pm on the airport premises, with four passengers and crew members onboard.

Confirming the incident, the Director, Public Affairs and Family Assistance of the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB), Mrs. Bimbo Oladeji, said the agency had been notified of the crash.

According to the NSIB, the aircraft crashed on the approach area of Runway 17, but no fatalities have been recorded so far.

The statement said: “Following the occurrence, airport emergency services were successfully activated and arrived on site promptly. Reports indicate that there was no post-crash fire, and the runway remains active for flight operations, with other aircraft taking off safely after the incident.

“Efforts are currently underway to coordinate the recovery and evacuation of the distressed aircraft from the crash site to allow for a detailed wreckage examination.”

The NSIB said it has officially activated its investigation protocols in line with its statutory mandate

The Director-General of NSIB, Capt. Alex Badeh Jr., sympathised with the management of Skypower Express over the incident and expressed relief that no lives were lost.

Badeh Jr. added that the Bureau’s investigation team is already coordinating with relevant authorities to secure the crash site and commence a detailed investigation into the cause of the accident.

Two days ago, 11 persons narrowly escaped death as a private jet crash-landed at Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano, on Sunday morning.

The occupants, including passengers and cabin crew, were safely evacuated amid an intense atmosphere, eyewitnesses told The Guardian.

The private jet, owned by Flybird Aviation, crash-landed at about 9:30 a.m. while approaching Kano Airport en route to Abuja.

The incident attracted urgent attention, with emergency staff and other stakeholders converging at the runway to render rescue operations.

The management of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) is yet to release an official statement on the incident. Unofficial sources disclosed that the passengers have been taken to an unknown destination.

Several aircraft incidents have occurred at Kano Airport, with several lives lost.

The last incident occurred in May 2002, when an EAS Airline aircraft departed the runway at Aminu Kano International Airport at 1:29 p.m. local time en route to Lagos.

Headline

Musk Breaks Record As First Person Worth Over $600 Billion

Published

13 hours ago

December 16, 2025

Editor

Elon Musk, Chief Executive Officer of SpaceX, Tesla, and xAI, has reached a new personal wealth milestone, surpassing a net worth of $600 billion, driven primarily by a recent valuation increase of SpaceX.

The development makes Musk the first individual in history to exceed the US$600 billion threshold.

According to Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index, Musk’s net worth stood at approximately $638 billion as of 15 December 2025, with the increase largely attributed to SpaceX, which was recently valued at around $800 billion following an insider share sale.

The privately held aerospace company, based in Starbase, Texas, is now considered the most valuable private firm globally, significantly boosting Musk’s personal holdings.

Musk’s stake in Tesla, estimated at roughly 12 per cent, is valued at nearly $200 billion, while his majority ownership of xAI Holdings is estimated at $60 billion.

Collectively, these assets place him on track to potentially approach US$700 billion, widening the gap between him and the world’s second-richest individual, former Google CEO Larry Page, valued at $265 billion.

The SpaceX valuation comes ahead of a projected public listing in 2026, which could see the company valued at approximately $1.5 trillion.

“Other shareholder meetings are snooze-fests but ours are bangers. Look at this. This is sick,” Musk said in November during Tesla’s shareholder meeting, referring to a performance-linked pay package approved by investors.

He added, “I super appreciate it.” The package, potentially worth up to US$1 trillion in stock, is tied to market-capitalisation and operational milestones over the next decade.

SpaceX’s Starlink satellite network has also contributed to investor confidence. The company continues to expand high-speed internet access to underserved regions worldwide.

Chad Gibbs, Vice President of Starlink Operations, stated that the satellite technology “bypasses the need to build massive amounts of infrastructure,” allowing broader and faster connectivity.

Musk’s ascent in personal wealth follows years of strategic risk-taking and long-term planning, with Tesla’s focus on electric vehicles, battery technology, and autonomous systems laying the foundation for his financial growth.

Analysts note that the combination of SpaceX’s soaring valuation, Tesla’s long-term incentives, and Musk’s diverse portfolio underpins his current status as the world’s wealthiest individual.

Headline

South Korea, Japan Protest China, Russia Aircraft Incursions

Published

7 days ago

December 10, 2025

Editor

South Korea and Japan reacted furiously on Wednesday after Chinese and Russian military aircraft conducted joint patrols around the two countries, with both Seoul and Tokyo scrambling jets.

South Korea said it had protested with representatives of China and Russia, while Japan said it had conveyed its “serious concerns” over national security.

According to Tokyo, two Russian Tu-95 nuclear-capable bombers on Tuesday flew from the Sea of Japan to rendezvous with two Chinese H-6 bombers in the East China Sea, then conducted a joint flight around the country.

The incident comes as Japan is locked in a dispute with China over comments Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi made about Taiwan.

The bombers’ joint flights were “clearly intended as a show of force against our nation, Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi wrote on X Wednesday.

Top government spokesman Minoru Kihara said that Tokyo had “conveyed to both China and Russia our serious concerns over our national security through diplomatic channels”.

Seoul said Tuesday the Russian and Chinese warplanes entered its air defence zone and that a complaint had been lodged with the defence attaches of both countries in the South Korean capital.

“Our military will continue to respond actively to the activities of neighbouring countries’ aircraft within the KADIZ in compliance with international law,” said Lee Kwang-suk, director general of the International Policy Bureau at Seoul’s defence ministry, referring to the Korea Air Defence Identification Zone.

South Korea also said it deployed “fighter jets to take tactical measures in preparation for any contingencies” in response to the Chinese and Russian incursion into the KADIZ.

The planes were spotted before they entered the air defence identification zone, defined as a broader area in which countries police aircraft for security reasons but which does not constitute their airspace.

Japan’s defence ministry also scrambled fighter jets to intercept the warplanes.

Beijing later Tuesday confirmed it had organised drills with Russia’s military according to “annual cooperation plans”.

Moscow also described it as a routine exercise, saying it lasted eight hours and that some foreign fighter jets followed the Russian and Chinese aircraft.

Since 2019, China and Russia have regularly flown military aircraft into South Korea’s air defence zone without prior notice, citing joint exercises.

In November last year, Seoul scrambled jets as five Chinese and six Russian military planes flew through its air defence zone.

Similar incidents occurred in June and December 2023, and in May and November 2022.

Meanwhile, Tokyo said Monday it had scrambled jets in response to repeated takeoff and landing exercises involving fighter jets and military helicopters from China’s Liaoning aircraft carrier as it cruised in international waters near Japan.

It also summoned Beijing’s ambassador after military aircraft from the Liaoning locked radar onto Japanese jets, the latest incident in the row ignited by Takaichi’s comments backing Taiwan.

Takaichi suggested last month that Japan would intervene militarily in any Chinese attack on the self-ruled island, which Beijing claims as its own and has not ruled out seizing by force.

AFP