Duped Husband Divorces Bride that Faked Cancer

The New York Daily News is reporting on a newlywed's divorce due to the groom discovering that his bride faked having leukemia to get him to the altar. Jessica Vega, the bride in question, however, didn't just stop there.

Sympathetic strangers, all equally conned per groom Michael O'Connell, bankrolled the wedding. Vega's mounting tab included her wedding dress, the wedding's bar tab, a discount on their wedding hall and a honeymoon in Aruba. 

O'Connell, 23, contends that Vega, also 23 and mother of the couple's 11 month-old child, lied to both strangers and their family. He told the Daily News, "I'm disgusted, I'm enraged. It was all lies."

Vega had shown O'Connell a letter on medical office stationary that showed a diagnosis of leukemia, and later admitted that she may have been mistaken.  She states that he slapped her around when he found out. 

O'Connell admitted that he did fight with her on the day that they broke up and said, "I thought she was dying and my goal was to give her everything she wanted before she did.  Now, I want to see the truth come out. If that means her going to jail, then let her pay for what she did."

When the story of the doomed Vega appeared in a local newspaper citizens clamored to help.  Besides the basic wedding needs and the free honeymoon, the couple also received matching wedding bands, makeovers for Vega and all seven of her bridesmaids.

Rachel Taylor, a hairdresser that had been touched by the story said, "I don't know what to believe.  If she's not sick and dying, then I'm happy for her, but at the same time, maybe she needs some help instead of free wedding gowns and honeymoons."

Citing his bride's false leukemia claim, O'Connell has filed for divorce. The letter from a Westchester County cancer specialist saying Vega was terminal, has not been confirmed as false. Telephone calls to the Westchester Institute for Treatment of Cancer & Blood Disorders have not been returned.

Per a reporter for the Times Herald-Record in upstate Middletown, the clinic told O'Connell that Vega was never a patient of theirs.  Her mother, Diana, believes Vega would never  "do something so manipulative."

Kim Kavanagh, the jeweler that provided the couple with matching 14-karat white gold wedding bands said, "It's sad, it's just sad. We don't feel duped, or betrayed, we just feel sad."

Vega contends that she saw the letter regarding her diagnosis being typed right in front of her, though now she has recanted and said that she had received the letter. 

Chris O'Connell, the groom's father, told the News that in regards to the couple's child, Ava, that, "There's a possibility he'll get custody at this point. He would prefer custody."

An unnamed friend of Vega's said that she has tried to contact her and shared, "We all felt betrayed.  We thought she was dying. It was awful. For her to lie to us like this for so long is unbelievable.  She still refuses to tell the truth."

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