BRITISH DAD, 44, DIES SUDDENLY ON CYPRUS ANNIVERSARY HOLIDAY AS FIANCÉE FACES HEARTBREAKING GOODBYE

CARDIFF — A Welsh father has died suddenly while on an anniversary holiday in Cyprus with his fiancée, leaving his family facing an unimaginable goodbye just as the couple had been planning their future together.

Paulo Brockway, 44, from Cardiff, became seriously ill on the day he and his fiancée, Kerry Debono, were due to fly home from their holiday.

He died the following day, September 17, after suffering a cardiac arrest following pancreatitis, according to what doctors told Kerry.

The couple had travelled to Cyprus to celebrate their three-year anniversary — a trip that had been filled with plans for the future.

Instead, Kerry was left mourning the sudden loss of the man she had planned to marry.

“MY HEART IS IN A MILLION PIECES”

Kerry said she was struggling to comprehend how quickly everything had changed.

Speaking about Paulo’s death, she said:

“I just can’t believe it’s all happened. I’m absolutely devastated, heartbroken and my heart is in a million pieces.”

The couple had reportedly fallen in love with Cyprus and had even talked about returning to the island to get married.

Kerry said Paulo had told her during the trip: “This is the place we need to get married.”

The pair also placed a lock on a bridge in Cyprus as a symbol of their relationship.

A SUDDEN MEDICAL EMERGENCY

According to Kerry, Paulo had appeared to be thriving before the sudden illness.

She said the couple had been preparing to return home when he became unwell.

Doctors in Cyprus later explained to her that Paulo had suffered a cardiac arrest following pancreatitis, which she said had not previously been diagnosed.

The speed of his deterioration left his loved ones struggling to understand how a man who had seemed to have so much ahead of him could suddenly be gone.

“He had so much to live for and he was just gone in the blink of an eye,” Kerry said.

HE LEAVES BEHIND A SON AND HEARTBROKEN FAMILY

Paulo leaves behind a son, as well as his mother, sisters and brother.

His family has been left devastated by the sudden loss.

Kerry said Paulo’s mother was struggling particularly badly to come to terms with losing her son.

The family is now preparing to bring Paulo home to Wales and arrange his funeral.

Although the couple had holiday insurance that would cover hospital costs and the repatriation of Paulo’s body, Kerry explained that the family still faced the unexpected financial burden of arranging his funeral.

A FUNDRAISER TO BRING PAULO HOME

Kerry launched a GoFundMe campaign to help give her fiancé the farewell she believes he deserves.

The fundraiser says Paulo had no life insurance and that the funeral was expected to cost around £7,000.

It also describes the plans to repatriate his body from Cyprus to Cardiff.

As of the latest fundraiser update, donations had reached approximately £2,455, with 80 people contributing toward the £3,000 fundraising target.

In her appeal, Kerry described Paulo as a loving father and passionate mountain climber.

She said that during the last three years, he had developed a love of climbing mountains and had even taken on climbs to raise money for charity.

The challenges gave him something to look forward to as he constantly sought to reach the next mountain.

“I WILL LOVE AND MISS YOU FOREVER”

For Kerry, the holiday was supposed to be a celebration of the relationship she and Paulo had built together.

Instead, it became the final journey they would ever take together.

The couple had met in 2023, and their relationship had grown into plans for marriage and a future together.

Now, Kerry is preparing to say goodbye.

In her fundraising message, she ended with a simple tribute to the man she planned to marry:

“I will love and miss you forever, Paulo.”

The family is now waiting to bring Paulo back to Cardiff, where his funeral will be held and his loved ones can say their final goodbye.