You hear of online dating horror stories, but when it comes to the possibility of being a victim yourself, it’s passed off as highly unlikely. What are the chances?
For 28-year-old Ashley, a flight attendant and contestant on this season’s Married At First Sight, the answer to that question is chilling. Because in November 2016, she found herself staring at the face of a man she’d previously dated after meeting on Tinder. He was splashed across national news headlines.
His name was Paul Lambert, and he had just been shot to his death by policemen.
“Honestly I still remember it. I was on a Townsville overnight, I had just got in. I turned on the news [and] saw something about a Tinder date,” Ashley said in an exclusive interview with news.com.au.
“And then his face popped up on the news. I was like, ‘No way’. And then they said it was Paul Lambert.”
Paul had met a doctor from NSW named Angela Jay on Tinder too, but instead of having seemingly innocent interactions with her like he did with Ashley, his behaviour towards Angela was violent.
After breaking up with him, Paul broke into Angela’s house, stabbed her 11 times, and then proceed to pour petrol all over her, nearly killing her.
Although Ashley’s time with Paul was brief and at times one-sided on Paul’s part, she didn’t at all suspect his capacity to commit such horrific actions.
“He’s the type of guy to send four messages to your one [message]. I’m not a good texter so he used to call quite a bit,” Ashley recalled.
It was her mother who had initial doubts about Paul and warned her to stay safe before their first date.
"He was working at a [car] dealership in Brisbane. He said he wanted to pick me up in the Merc [Mercedes] because his boss let him," she said. "My mum was like, 'Don't you dare let him pick you up'. I was like, 'Oh my God mum, don't be so stupid'."
"The scariest thing would be I never got any red flags," Ashley admitted.
"None. I didn't get any sick feeling in my stomach - he was a normal guy. And even a normal guy can lose it and do that. In dates, texts, phone calls, [he was] like every other guy."
Since Angela's attack was made public news, Ashley hasn't used Tinder once. In fact, she had a date scheduled on the night she heard of the incident on television but cancelled immediately.
Ashley is set to appear on tonight's episode of Married At First Sight, and hopes to find the love of her life on the reality television show.
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