COOKING UP A STORM
British TV chef Charles Withers ‘ghosts’ wife and kids for a year after changing name & vanishing ‘without a trace’
Several women used dating apps to find out where the mystery man had ended up
A BRITISH chef has been accused of "ghosting" his wife and two children after he allegedly changed his name and vanished "without a trace".
Ashley McGuire was left heartbroken after she claims TV star lover Charles Withers abandoned their family a year ago - only for him to be found in 24 hours by part-time social media detectives.
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Millions of people have now viewed McGuire's story as it went massively viral on TikTok.
Internet sleuths claim to have hunted down her husband - alleging they had matched with him on dating apps such as Bumble.
It is claimed Charles is living his ideal single life in Texas - a massive 30-hour drive away from his family.
They allege the London-born cook now goes by Charlie.
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He is yet to respond to any of the claims against him.
McGuire, from Massachusetts, turned to Facebook to try and find her runaway hubby, last Saturday.
She posted online: “This is my husband, Charles Withers. He loves to be the center of attention but I’m not sure how much he’s going to like this.
“Last year, when I was pregnant with our youngest baby, he decided being a husband and a dad wasn’t the lifestyle he wanted anymore and he ghosted, like gone without a trace.”
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“He has one baby he hasn’t seen in over a year, and one he’s never met.
"He’s moved somewhere out of state and changed his phone number.”
McGuire first made her bombshell claims public on the popular Facebook group “Are We Dating the Same Guy”.
I dated a guy at work & he said 'no one can ever know' - I discovered the real reason after he ghosted me in the office
She described her distant lost lover as “charming” but added he has “probably never mentioned having a wife or kids back in Massachusetts”.
The Brit starred in a 2022 episode of the reality TV show “Chopped” on The Food Network making him a recognisable face.
He is thought to have abruptly shut the doors to his restaurant before fleeing Massachusetts over 12 months ago.
McGuire says she publicly spilled the beans of his complete runner after several failed attempts at contacting him privately.
The mum-of-two has become used to being a single parent in the year since he allegedly left and is now looking to get a divorce.
However, she says getting a divorce with a man who tries to no longer exist is a tricky task.
I have literally hundreds of messages to sort through, some with information and some with support, and I appreciate all of them
Ashley McGuire
She wrote: “Divorcing someone who’s completely unreachable is really tough and drawn out, so I’m trying to track him down to get his signatures on a few papers.
“If you know him, if you’re working with him, if you’re dating him or friends with him, can you please have him get in touch with me or let me know where I can find him."
This plea led to a number of X sleuths piecing together the entire saga and claiming the chef had completely changed his whole life.
It took just 24-hours for McGuire's post to be flooded with comments of people claiming they had seen Withers in Texas.
Many claimed they had matched with him on dating apps, according to viral social media clips.
One admitted: “I matched with him on Bumble just a few weeks ago."
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It was through his dating profile that people realised Charles was now Charlie.
Several others revealed he had given out his address to them so they could meet up after seemingly hitting it off online.
A grateful McGuire said she had "a few girls reach out" to her who gave out his Texas address.
She posted a follow-up comment on Facebook saying: “I have literally hundreds of messages to sort through, some with information and some with support, and I appreciate all of them.
“I’ve gotten more than enough information to locate him.
“Single moms are a special breed, and I know a lot of you have gone through the same situation I have.”
The wild story quickly gained the attention of millions online with one detailing the story getting over five million views.
Several other posts have also gained hundreds of thousands of comments from frustrated women feeling McGuire's pain.
Despite many of these angered women wanting to see the chef get his comeuppance for his walk-out act, the classy mum asked for people to calm down with the hate for her ex.
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She added: “I sincerely appreciate all of your support, but please do not make threats, spread hate, or try to go out and locate him.
“Truly I only want to see this situation resolved so me and my children can restart our lives and fix the damage done.”
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