Britain's most married man has called off his engagement to wife number nine - claiming it just "didn't feel right".
Ron Sheppard, 71, proposed to Rose Hans, 30, last month after a year-long romance - even though the pair had never met.
The dad-of-eight had hoped to tie the knot with American after she had completed a nursing course in Ghana, nearly 5,000 miles away.
But the retired entertainments manager has now revealed that he pulled the plug on the upcoming nuptials via email - and at the last minute.
Ron, from Somerton, Somerset, said: "We were supposed to meet on Friday. It didn't feel like the right thing for me to do - especially when you don't really love someone.
"She was doing all the pushing. It didn't feel right in my heart. My love was always in a different place.
"Of course, she was upset and all that - but I expected a pleading email and I didn't get that. She said she couldn't take phone calls as she's in Ghana."
Gutted Ron has said he now plans to write a book about relationships - as he "has experience".
He said: "I want to give myself some time - but people have asked me what I would do [about their problems] before."
Ron, a retired entertainments manager from Somerton, Somerset, previously said the age gap isn't a problem.
He told the Sun Online: “I know Rose is the one. It doesn’t matter that we haven’t met as I can tell we are the perfect match.
"Age is just numbers and I don’t care she is more than half my age.
Ron has been married eight times, first walking down the aisle in 1966.
His longest union lasted 13 years; the shortest was just 10 months.
