A British chef cooked up a storm online for allegedly abandoning his wife and children and “ghosting” them because he no longer wanted the family life.
The TV star chef's wife, Ashley McGuire, told the story to the world after her husband, Charles Withers, had “gone without a trace,” leaving her high and dry with their kids.
"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," Ashley said, according to screenshots of her posts online. "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 [us], like gone without a trace. 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."
Highlights
- A British chef allegedly abandoned his family, according to a viral post shared by his wife
- The wife hoped the power of social media would help track her estranged husband down so they could finalize their divorce
- Internet detectives joined the search and scoured social media for any signs of the chef
- The wife eventually received overwhelming support online and said she had enough information to locate him
A woman named Ashley McGuire tested the power of social media to find her husband, who ghosted her after abandoning her and their children
Image credits: ashleyatsnatched
Ashley revealed that the only thing she wants from Charles is his signature on their divorce papers so that she can finally move on with her life.
“Divorcing someone who’s completely unreachable is really tough and drawn out, so I’m trying to track him down to get his signature on a few papers so I can finally close this chapter and move on with my life,” she wrote. “I’ve heard he’s going by ‘Charlie’ now. He’s British and charming AF. He’s a chef and probably working in the hospitality industry somewhere. He’s probably never mentioned having a wife or kids back in Massachusetts.”
Charles is reportedly a prominent rising figure in the culinary scene, and he made an appearance on Food Network's Chopped back in 2022.
Ashley wrote on social media that she wanted to track her husband down so they could finalize their divorce and she could move on with her life
Image credits: ashleyatsnatched
The mother tapped into the power of social media and hoped that her post would be shared enough to help track her estranged husband down.
"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. All the girls out there, feel free to share. A friend of a friend of a friend has got to know where he is," Ashley wrote.
Just as she hoped, her post went viral and reached the corners of the internet with help from other TikTokers and social media influencers, who shared her story on their own profiles. Some reportedly claimed that they stumbled upon Charles’ profile while swiping on the dating app Bumble in Dallas, Texas.
Social media detectives began scouring the internet for traces of where Charles could be after Ashley's post went viral
Image credits: ashleyatsnatched
TikToker Jay Megan, who goes by the name @nerdypinkpanda, used her profile as a mouthpiece to get her thousands of followers to help track Charles down.
Jay later posted an update and shared a clip of Charles’ appearance on the Chopped episode. She went on to allege that Charles had not only abandoned his wife but had also vanished from his workplace without paying his employees.
“His wife isnt the only one he ran out on!” Jay wrote in the caption.
A TikToker, @nerdypinkpanda, posted videos about Ashley's story and claimed Charles left his workplace without paying his employees
“I hope his wife gets the justice she deserves for her and her poor kiddos,” one person commented on Jay’s video, while another said, “This all happened so fast, its been an emotional rollercoaster and I've loved every single moment of it.”
“The restaurant employees should go to a local tv news station,” another suggested. “Almost guaranteed they’ll air the story.”
As part of the online search investigation for Charles, social media users also pulled out a video of a man singing karaoke at a bar and wondered whether it was Charles. However, Ashley eventually clarified that she didn’t think it was her husband.
“That karaoke video that everyone’s sending..i don’t think that’s actually him. So I apologize to whoever it is for your karaoke being blasted all over the internet. You did a great job though!” Ashley said.
Eventually, the Sherlocks of the internet reportedly tracked him down, and Ashley revealed in an update that she had received enough information to find the father of her children.
Ashley clarified that the man singing the karaoke was not her estranged husband
“UPDATE: Guys….. This is absolutely insane. I figured maybe someone in my area was still in touch with him but I absolutely did not expect this,” she wrote.
Ashley revealed that she received hundreds of messages after her story went viral and expressed her appreciation to the social media detectives for helping her out.
“I’ve gotten MORE than enough information to locate him. I have literally hundreds of messages to sort through, some with information and some with support and I appreciate all of them. Single moms are a special breed, and I know a lot of you have gone through the same situation I have,” she went on to say.
The wife noted to her readers that she didn’t want any harm caused to Charles and simply wanted to resolve their estranged marriage situation so that she could “restart” her life with her children.
“Please know I truly do not wish him any type of ill will. 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. At the end of the day I get to come home to my babies and be their mom, so I think I win regardless,” Ashley concluded.
The internet was more than happy to help Ashley track her husband down, with one saying, "I'm so happy they found him"
