The attack occurred at Oakwood House Register Office in Maidstone, Kent, where Gemma Monk was about to marry her partner Ken. According to multiple reports, Antonia Eastwood, the sister-in-law, threw black paint over Gemma, ruining her £1,800 wedding dress and causing more than £5,000 damage to the venue. The incident left Gemma covered in paint and the ceremony delayed.
Despite the attack, Gemma Monk managed to clean up and marry Ken two hours later in a borrowed dress. According to Daily Mail - Home, Gemma described that she did not think twice and would have walked down the aisle in her knickers with black paint on her face if necessary. The couple abandoned plans for a dream honeymoon in the Maldives, and Gemma had waited almost 20 years to marry Ken, making the disruption particularly devastating.
I feel ashamed of myself. It’s not me. I’ve never been in trouble with the police before. Ever.
Antonia Eastwood was sentenced to 10 months imprisonment suspended for 12 months. She was also ordered to pay £5,000 in damages, with £4,000 to Gemma Monk and £1,000 to Oakwood House, according to major media reports. The suspended sentence means she will avoid prison unless she reoffends within the year.
The motive for the attack is disputed. Antonia Eastwood claims she acted on impulse and does not know why she did it. According to Daily Mail - Home, she described it as a spur-of-the-moment thing and said she felt ashamed. However, Judge Oliver Saxby KC concluded that Eastwood thought Gemma deserved it, implying premeditation. The judge described the attack as 'horrid, nasty and mean' and said there was a lingering suspicion that it had been a while coming. This contradiction between Eastwood's claim of impulse and the judge's assessment of premeditation remains unresolved.
I had a full-blown panic attack on the day I was sentenced. I was petrified I’d go to prison. It has all taken its toll.
The family feud began at Antonia Eastwood's wedding in 2023, where Gemma Monk allegedly tried to trip her, according to Ashley, Gemma's brother. The exact details of what happened at that wedding are unknown, and it is unclear whether Gemma actually tried to trip Antonia. This incident appears to have sparked the animosity that led to the paint attack.
Antonia Eastwood said she felt ashamed and had a panic attack on sentencing day fearing prison, according to Daily Mail - Home. She described being petrified of going to prison and said it had all taken its toll. Gemma Monk said the attack changed her outlook on life and she lost her dignity. In a statement, Gemma said: 'To have paint thrown over me by my brother's wife changed my outlook on life and made me question whether I had done something really bad, whether I had done something wrong. Since the incident, if it wasn't for my children or my family, I don't think I would even get out of bed to care for myself. I have lost all my dignity and good habits in life. I have lost who I used to be.'
I don’t know why I did it.
Additional details include that Antonia Eastwood is also known as Toni, according to multiple reports. Several unknowns remain: what exactly happened at Antonia's wedding in 2023 that sparked the feud, whether Gemma actually tried to trip Antonia, why Antonia had black paint in her car on the day of the wedding, how family dynamics evolved after the attack, and whether Gemma and Ken will proceed with a vow renewal ceremony as planned.
It was a spur of the moment thing.
We’d waited so long for that day. 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.
To have paint thrown over me by my brother’s wife changed my outlook on life and made me question whether I had done something really bad, whether I had done something wrong. Since the incident, if it wasn't for my children or my family, I don't think I would even get out of bed to care for myself. I have lost all my dignity and good habits in life. I have lost who I used to be.
It was an impulse.