Sofiia, who works as an IT manager, flew into Manchester on May 4 after waiting for weeks in Berlin for her UK visa to be approved. Tony said he and Sofiia quickly developed a connection, and while his six-year-old and three-year-old daughters also took a liking to her, his partner of 10 years did not. Tony, who speaks Slovakian, would talk with his future lover while she spoke Ukrainian, as the two languages are mutually intelligible.
