Cheryl Thomasgood’s unconventional love story captured the world’s attention when, in the 1990s, she left her life in England behind to start anew with a Masai warrior from Kenya. But decades later, she opens up about the regrets and emotional toll this decision took on her life and her family.
A Leap of Faith
In 1995, Cheryl was 34 years old and feeling stuck in her marriage and job as a hairdresser on the Isle of Wight. After a trip to Kenya with a friend, she met Daniel Lekimencho, a 24-year-old Masai warrior and dancer who performed for tourists. Their connection was instant and intense. Daniel’s life was a world apart from Cheryl’s—he lived in a mud hut, spent his days hunting giraffes and lions, and had a completely different cultural background.
Cheryl described the moment she met Daniel as life-changing: “When I saw him, I was bowled over by his physical appearance. I knew I couldn’t spend my life without him,” she recalled. Her whirlwind romance with Daniel left her with a tough choice: return to her family in England or pursue her heart’s desire in the unknown.
The Consequences of Her Choice
Within weeks, Cheryl left her second husband, Mike Mason, and their three children to be with Daniel. Her husband, despite the emotional pain, handled the separation with surprising grace, even helping fund her return trip to Kenya. Cheryl’s children were deeply affected by her decision, and the impact on her family’s stability was profound.
Cheryl moved to Kenya in late 1994, where she initially embraced the Masai lifestyle. But the harsh conditions, including extreme temperatures and isolation, soon took their toll. She became ill and had to return to the UK for recovery, where she sold her story to the press to fund Daniel’s trip to England.
Maasai warriors head home to their settlements carrying sticks and spears across their shoulders at the Ngorongoro crater. (Derek Hudson/Getty Images)
A Public Marriage and the Strain of Cultural Differences
In 1995, Cheryl and Daniel made headlines when they married on Valentine’s Day, wearing traditional Masai clothing. The UK authorities were suspicious of the union, suspecting it might be a strategy for Daniel to gain citizenship. Eventually, he was deported, and the couple returned to England, where they raised their daughter Mitsi.
However, their relationship began to deteriorate. Daniel, who had once been content in his traditional Masai role, struggled to adapt to Western life. He began to demand material comforts, such as a bigger home, designer clothes, and money to send back to his family in Kenya. Cheryl now admits that Daniel, who had once seemed like a proud and spiritual warrior, became increasingly frustrated and materialistic.
“The only time Daniel was happy was when he was jumping around in the garden doing his traditional Masai dance,” Cheryl recalled. “He would say that he was getting ready for battle and wanted to jump as high as an elephant.”
Despite the tension, Cheryl remained committed to the relationship, but the cultural differences were too great, and the couple’s marriage ended in 1999, just four years after their wedding.
Facing the Past and Its Consequences
Cheryl’s past was marked by personal trauma, including childhood sexual abuse, which she struggled to reconcile with her choices. She had hoped that her romance with Daniel would be a healing experience, but instead, it led to more pain. “The impact all this had on my children… Having a Masai warrior as a father was not easy for them,” Cheryl admitted.
Her children—Steve, Tommy, Chloe, and Mitsi—were forced to navigate the fallout of their mother’s decisions. However, Cheryl is proud that her relationships with them remain strong, despite the complications.
Life After the Storm
Now 65 years old, Cheryl lives a quiet life in a seaside town in Somerset, far removed from the dramatic romance and media attention that once defined her life. She has no intention of marrying again, describing her previous relationships as a “hattrick of disasters.”
Meanwhile, Daniel remains on the Isle of Wight, working at a supermarket—far from the proud warrior and dancer he once was.
A British woman who left her husband and three kids to start a new life with a Masai warrior in Kenya has opened up about the regrets she carries from her unusual romance — and the emotional toll it took on her family.
Felt stuck in her marriage
Cheryl Thomasgood’s story made headlines around the world when she left her comfortable suburban life on England’s Isle of Wight to chase an unexpected romance in a remote Kenyan village. But now, decades later, she’s opening up about the reality behind what once seemed like a fairytale.
Back in 1995, Cheryl was 34 years old when she met Daniel Lekimencho — a towering 6-foot-2 Masai warrior and traditional dancer who performed for tourists at a hotel in Mombasa. Their connection was immediate and powerful.
At the time, Cheryl Mason was feeling stuck in her marriage and frustrated with her job as a hairdresser on the peaceful Isle of Wight, just off England’s southern coast.
She decided a week-long getaway to Africa with a girlfriend might help her clear her head and figure out what changes she wanted to make. But Cheryl never expected that a night at the hotel bar, where a group of tribal dancers had gathered, would change her life forever. Even more surprising was the fact that her life would be changed by a Masai warrior — 10 years younger than her — who lived in a mud hut and spent his days hunting giraffes and lions.
“When I saw him, I was bowled over by his physical appearance,” Cheryl told The Province in 1998. “I knew I couldn’t spend my life without him.”
”I had to make a decision”
After the performance, Daniel approached Cheryl and offered to show her around the Kenyan coast. What followed was a whirlwind romance, with the pair spending the rest of her vacation exploring the seaside and soaking up their chemistry.
But when the trip ended, Cheryl faced a gut-wrenching choice: return home to her husband and kids — or follow her heart into the unknown.
“He was so beautiful, I had to make a decision,” she recalled. “It was then I thought, well, what am I going to do – be sensible and play the contented suburban housewife, or start living the way I wanted to?”
Within weeks, Cheryl had left her second husband, Mike Mason, and their three children to be with Daniel, who was ten years her junior.
Surprisingly, Cheryl’s husband Mike took the news with remarkable grace. He admitted their marriage hadn’t been strong for a while — and even went so far as to sell his car to help fund her return trip to Kenya.
Husband’s reaction
“Some people think I’m a bit of a wimp over this and that I should have kicked Cheryl out right then,” Mike said at the time. “But there are children involved and I wanted us to be on good terms. I have to accept that our marriage is finished.”
In late 1994, Cheryl packed up her life and moved to Kenya, settling into Daniel’s mud hut in the heart of rural Africa. For a few months, she embraced the traditional Masai lifestyle — but the extreme conditions quickly wore her down. The scorching daytime heat and freezing nights took a toll on her health, and Cheryl eventually fell ill.
Needing to return to England to recover, she came up with a bold plan to reunite with Daniel: she sold her story to the press. The money from those interviews helped her afford his plane ticket to the UK.
Once Daniel finally arrived in the UK, it was time for the next big surprise.
The couple made a bold statement by marrying on Valentine’s Day 1995, dressed in traditional Masai clothing. Authorities, however, were skeptical of the marriage, suspecting it was simply a ploy for Daniel to gain citizenship. As a result, he was deported in 1995.
The couple returned to the UK a few years later, raising their daughter Mitsi while trying to adapt to life on the Isle of Wight.
The reality of their relationship
Their whirlwind love story made headlines and captivated readers at the time—but years later, the fairytale has faded, and Cheryl’s version of events sounds very different.
But Cheryl says the reality of their relationship was far from the spiritual connection she’d imagined. She now admits she was used as a “meal ticket” by Daniel, whose obsession with money and material things grew after moving to England.
“I made a huge mistake, it was very wrong of me, and I have a lot of regrets, especially about how it damaged my children,” Cheryl told MailOnline in a rare interview reflecting on her “tormented” marriage.
She describes Daniel’s dramatic shift from the spiritual, proud warrior she fell for in Kenya to a man frustrated by middle-class life, constantly demanding more — from a bigger home to designer clothes and cash to send back to his family in Kenya.
“The only time Daniel was happy was when he was jumping around in the garden doing his traditional Masai dance,” Cheryl recalled. “He would say that he was getting ready for battle and wanted to jump as high as an elephant. The kids loved it, but it got on my nerves after a while.”
Difficult past
Despite her hopes, cultural differences and Daniel’s struggles to adjust led to constant fights and eventually, their split in 1999 — just four years after their wedding.
Cheryl also opened up about her difficult past, revealing she suffered sexual abuse as a child and was battling trauma and an unhappy marriage when she met Daniel. A church choir friend encouraged her to take the Kenyan trip that would change her life — but what she thought would be healing turned out to be a painful escape.
Cheryl’s story serves as a poignant reminder that chasing love and adventure comes with risks and consequences. While she once thought her bold decisions would bring her happiness, she now reflects on the deep emotional toll they took on her family.
