Christopher Coles took his own life the day after he and his wife Isabel had returned from their honeymoon
(Picture: Kennedy News and Media)
A bride has spoken of her devastation following her husband’s suicide the day after their ‘perfect’ honeymoon
Then months later, on Valentine’s Day, she was shocked to receive flowers he’d ordered for her before he died.
Isabel, 32, and Christopher Coles, 28, from Southern Pines, North Carolina in the US married in September last year after meeting on a dating app a year and a half before.
Both big music fans, they decided to spend their honeymoon at a beachfront music festival called Sea Hear Now in New Jersey.
The morning after they returned home, Christopher, who was serving in the military, started acting ‘a little weird’ said Isobel, but wouldn’t tell her what was wrong.
He then left the house with a handgun, and before Isabel had a chance to stop him, disappeared into a nearby forest.
Unable to find him, she contacted his parents in Georgia who arrived the following day. His dad eventually discovered his son’s body in the forest.
The pair on their music festival honeymoon (Picture: Kennedy News and Media)
Isabel said she saw no signs her husband was struggling in the lead up to his death.
She described the pair as ‘so insanely happy and in love’ on their music festival honeymoon.
‘Music was a huge part of our relationship, it was the perfect way to celebrate our marriage,’ she explained.
When they returned home, Christopher ‘stayed up all night’ putting together the guest information for their wedding reception.
The couple got married in September and were due to have a big celebration with family and friends (Picture: Kennedy News and Media)
They had tied the knot in a small ceremony at a court house in September and were organising a big celebration event for friends and family.
The following morning Christopher was ‘folding laundry and things were a little weird,’ she said. ‘I asked him what was wrong, and he said “nothing”.
‘He went downstairs and tried to get out. I stood at the front door and asked what was going on.
‘He got out and started heading towards the woods. I ran upstairs to get shoes on and realised he had taken his handgun.’
Christopher proposing after running a marathon (Picture: Kennedy News and Media)
When she found out the next day he had taken his own life, Isabel said she was left ‘shocked’ and ‘devastated’.
The mother-of-one described her husband as ‘very successful and very driven and motivated’ and ‘such a good person’, adding ‘so looking back I think, “Were there signs?”
‘He was very hard on himself, always pushing himself. There were no signs, it did take me really off guard.’
Isabel said she ‘freaked’ out when the bouquet of flowers arrived from her late husband on Valentine’s this year.
Isabel says she saw no signs Christopher was unhappy (Picture: Kennedy News and Media)
‘I contacted the florist and they said he ordered the flowers in September because he knew he would be deployed and travelling back around Valentine’s Day,’ she explained.
The pair often spent months apart due to Christopher’s job.
‘He wrote to me every single day where he was telling me about his day, almost like talking to me,’ Isabel said. ‘He would ask me about my day knowing that I couldn’t respond.’
She added: ‘My husband had just come back at the end of August and wanted to get married in case something happened to me or him.
Isabel shared her story online (Picture: Kennedy News and Media)
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Isabel shared her story online in a video that went viral, picking up almost 40 million views.
She said some tell her Christopher’s death is her fault or that she shouldn’t have made his story public.
‘Everyone wants a reason why. No one believes that a smart, handsome, successful man who has a great life wakes up one day and decides to end his life,’ she said.
‘There are people in my life that say I had something to do with it. I know it’s not true, my husband and I were very happy. No one can change that or take that away from me.
The mum-of-one is running a marathon in October to raise awareness around mental health (Picture: Kennedy News and Media)
‘There are things I do blame myself for but I don’t think we were unhappy or that I did it. He obviously was fighting demons and no one knew about it. I’m not doing well; there’s a part of me that is gone forever.
‘There’s still so much that I’m dealing with that makes me feel like I’m reliving the moment over and over again which is very tough.’
She continued: ‘He didn’t do it to hurt me, he wouldn’t do anything to hurt me. For whatever reason he probably thought that people would be better off without him.’
Isabel plans to run the Chicago Marathon in October in memory of her husband to raise awareness around mental health.
She’ll also rain funds for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
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