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Widow who dated brother-in-law after her husband died on the sofa has ‘ended the relationship’

A widow who started dating her brother-in-law after her husband died on the sofa has ended the relationship, it has been reported.

Ashley Murrell, 33, admitted it was a ‘mistake’ to date her late husband Mikey’s brother Chris two months after he died.

The Sun reported that she posted an apology on Facebook directed at her late husband, 36, who was found dead on the sofa the morning after the couple argued about his long working hours.

‘I’m so sorry that I’ve let you down,’ Mrs Murrell posted.

‘You will always be in my heart Mikey and I know I’ve made mistake.

‘I promise you that when my time comes I’m coming home to you.. Miss you uncontrollably xx’.

Ashley Murrell, right, and her dead husband's brother, Chris, left, are in a relationship (Picture: Caters)
Ashley Murrell, right, and her husband’s brother, Chris, left, have ended their relationship (Picture: Caters)

Mrs Murrell had previously been in a relationship with Chris after they became close following Mikey’s death, and friends had said they were ‘happy together’.

She shared a picture of her and Chris together surrounded by pink hearts and changed her Facebook status to indicate the pair were in a relationship, but has since changed it back to single, the Sun reported.

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Mrs Murrell, a beauty therapist from Wellington, Somerst, had posted: ‘We became close and fell in love, it was never planned but it’s happened and it feels right. I will never ever forget my beautiful husband but life is too short to miss out on happiness.’

She later said the couple were ‘pretending’ to be in a relationship for the sake of her children.

She and Mikey met in 2007 and were married in 2010, after which Mr Murrell adopted Ashley’s daughter Morgan, 14, and the couple had twins Mikey Junior and Lisa in 2013.

He was found dead on May 16. Mrs Murrell had told him to sleep on the sofa after the argument, but when she woke up the next morning, she discovered that he was dead.

Mikey Murrell was found dead on the sofa after a heated argument with wife Ashley (Picture: Caters)
Mikey Murrell, right, was found dead on the sofa after an argument with his wife Ashley (Picture: Caters)

Mrs Murrel said a post-mortem examination ruled he had choked in his sleep but that the cause was ‘inconclusive’.

She later learned that he had been working extra hours to earn enough money to take her to Prague for their wedding anniversary on July 3.

She said: ‘Mikey was so caring, if he walked into a room and saw someone unhappy he would be the first person there trying to cheer them up.

‘He absolutely loved his family. He wanted his kids to have all the things in life that he didn’t and he worked so hard to make that happen.

‘He would work 16-hour shifts, seven days a week just so he could save up enough to take us all to Disney every year. He was so worn out but he would do anything just to see us smile.

‘But the hours he was working were just getting too much. He was so exhausted all the time and he was running himself into the ground and his health was going downhill fast.

Mr Murrell, pictured with his twins, had been working long shifts to save money for an anniversary present (Picture: Caters)
Mr Murrell, pictured with his twins, had been working long shifts to save money for an anniversary present (Picture: Caters)

‘When he came home that night he was a mess, I have never seen him so exhausted. I couldn’t stand seeing him like that and I got angry. I was sick of it.

‘I had a go at him and told him to sleep on the sofa which was stupid because I really just wanted him around more.’

When she discovered his body the next morning, she said she ‘blacked out’.

She added: ‘I felt so guilty. I was so angry with myself for making him sleep on the sofa. I still find it so hard to think that my last words to him were out of anger.

‘When I found out he’d been saving to take us on an anniversary holiday it was awful – heartbreaking doesn’t begin to cover it.’

She added: ‘Losing Mikey has changed my entire perspective on life. Life is too short to go to bed angry and not to spend every moment you can with your family.’