Male model flogs wedding ring while vicar husband, 79, left homeless
Philip Clements and Florin Marin
An elderly vicar who married a 24-year-old man has been left penniless and homeless after their relationship ended.
Rev Philip Clements ended his relationship with Romanian national Florin Marin after just a few months of marriage in 2017.
The marriage ended days after Mr Clements handed over his £100,000 city centre flat in Bucharest.
Now the reverend has been left devastated after his husband – who he remains married to – has found a new boyfriend and flogged his wedding ring for cash.
He told MailOnline: “I wasn’t aware of it. Unless it’s the Spanish man who works with him on TV.
‘I will ask Florin if he has gone behind my back.”
The ex-reverend said he felt ‘foolish’ for marrying Mr Florin and said he bought him a flat as he wanted to ensure the model was set for the future.
“When things were going well between us I assigned the flat to him legally in order to give him security when I die,” he said.
“I’m 79 and can’t go on forever and I wanted him to have that security.
“So he has the flat and there is no way I can get it back, even if I wanted it back.”
He added: “I don’t blame Florin for it because I voluntarily gave it to him thinking we would both be living there.”
While the 79-year-old is reliant on friends for a roof over his head, the flashy wedding ring he bought his husband has already been sold.
Mr Marin pawned his wedding ring without telling his former partner.
The average wage in Romania is £410 ($485) per month, making the value of the apartment equivalent Mr Clements gave him to 20 years work, before other gifts such as the ring.
Bucharest city centre, Romania (Getty)
While the almost octogenarian struggles to rebuild his life, his ex-partner has found a new, wealthier boyfriend.
Mr Marin broke his silence to reveal he is now dating wealthy dad-of-one Jeronimo Jesus de Vega, 48.
He has even boasted of late-night partying and splashing his cash with the new businessman boyfriend.
Florin admitted he “likes the money” de Vega can provide, boasting: “He is more wealthy than Philip”.
Speaking to local media in Romania, he said: “Philip knows, I told him I found someone. He said that he would not want to keep in touch with me.”
He explained: “He has some business, he is more wealthy than Philip.
“He knows very well that I like the money. I told him all about my husband.”
The model added that he was “pleasantly surprised” when he first came across de Vega on Facebook.
De Vega asked to pay for plane tickets to meet face-to-face and waited at the airport with white roses”.
“After that, we went to a gay club in Alicante, drank and went to his house and slept together”.
Mr Clements confessed he “lost everything” in the marriage after selling his Kent home to fund his husband’s lifestyle on the continent.
The devout Christian is now destitute, relying on friends for a roof over his head.
Mr Clements returned to Britain in September, after less than five months of marriage.
He says he handed over the flat to Florin to give him “security when I die”.
