Belgian widower Michel, 76, drives 500 miles to marry French beauty queen Sophie Vouzelaud after scammers steal her identity on WhatsApp and take €30,000

Summary

Michel, a 76-year-old Belgian widower, drove 472 miles to the home of former Miss France runner-up Sophie Vouzelaud in Saint-Julien, France on July 9, 2025, believing he was about to marry her. For several weeks he had been communicating on WhatsApp with a scammer using fake accounts that impersonated Vouzelaud, and had transferred €30,000 (~£26,000) which he believed was a loan. He was met at the door by Vouzelaud's husband Fabien Boutamine, who filmed the encounter and shared it online. Michel said to the couple: 'I am an imbecile.' Vouzelaud urged him to file a police report. The video went viral as a warning about celebrity impersonation romance scams. No deepfake technology was involved — scammers used publicly available photos from her social media accounts.