Engaged? But love rat is still married to me

HIS wife was surprised to read in the Guernsey Press that George Helpe had become engaged to another woman. Sylvia Helpe, 58, split up from her 68-year-old husband on 8 June, but she is still married to him and has been for 21 years.

Mrs Helpe, who has now filed for divorce on the grounds of adultery, branded her soon-to-be ex-husband a 'serial love rat' who had been married to another woman for 20 years before they met.

'We've been together for 24 years because we dated three years before we were married,' she said.

'He has six children from his first marriage and I have two children from mine.

'He sometimes ends up not even knowing what is the truth.

'I'm not bothered that he's got engaged because he's not been a good husband.

'If he treats his third wife the same way as he has treated the last two, then I feel very sorry for her,' said Mrs Helpe, a retired residential carer.

Mr Helpe met his fiancee at Les Nicolles Lodge, where they are both residents, and they hope to be married in a year's time.

But Mrs Helpe, who married Mr Helpe on 8 February 1986, has warned that her now-estranged husband can be a very convincing story-teller.

'It's not the first time he's told people that he's not married. He's done it before,' said Mrs Helpe.

'We went to a friend's birthday party this year and he was dancing with two young girls.

'I wanted to go home but he insisted we stay.

'Eventually he said we could leave and on the way out one of the girls asked me what my relationship with George was.

'I told her he was my husband and she said he had told her he was divorced and had invited them to his house.

'I said to him, "If we're divorced, I wish you'd let me know", but he said he was only joking.'

Mrs Helpe has not seen her husband since June when she asked him to leave.

Speaking from Les Nicolles Lodge, Mr Helpe said his fiancee, who is 64, was aware of the situation and he expected his divorce to be complete in three months' time.

'My wife keeps phoning up because she doesn't want anyone else to have me. I'm waiting for my divorce to come through in about three months' time,' he said.

'I have signed the divorce papers and I have an appointment with my solicitor in two weeks' time.'

He denied that he was a 'serial love rat'.

'I have not been going from woman to woman,' said Mr Helpe, who admitted he had already been married twice.

'She 'Mrs Helpe' keeps trying to paint a black picture of me and it's just not true.'