For over three years, Aims Louise built a life with her partner Dan in Derbyshire but now she is on a quest to find a lady named Michelle.
Louise and Dan shared a home, a love of animals, and countless hikes through the countryside.
Their little dog, Mavis, a lively two-year-old, completed what Louise thought was their perfect family.
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But that idyllic life was shattered when Louise discovered that Dan had been leading a double life—and now she’s on a mission to find the woman he’s been seeing.
“I am honestly devastated,” Louise said, as she recounted her ordeal.
“My whole life has been torn apart, and myself and Mavis have lost our home, the life we’ve built, and our future together.”
Aims Louise says her world has been shattered after discovering her partner of nearly four years, Dan Schofield, had been having an affair.
The Derbyshire woman and her two-year-old dog, Mavis, have not only lost their home but also the future they had planned as a family.
“I am honestly devastated,” Louise said. “My whole life has been torn apart, and myself and Mavis have lost our home, the life we have built, and I am just beyond devastated.”
How it all began and how everything unfolded.
Louise says her relationship with Schofield began in April 2021 and that she was “besotted” with him from the start. She recalls how they bonded over shared interests such as hiking, enjoying cask ales at pubs in Wirksworth, and their mutual love of animals. However, Louise now says that the man she thought she knew was leading a double life.
Last year, while cleaning their home, Louise says she found a Valentine’s Day card addressed to Schofield. When she confronted him, she says he dismissed it as being from “a crazy ex” he briefly dated before they met. “He told me the card must have just been caught up with some items he had brought over from his mum’s house,” Louise explained. “I foolishly believed him.”
However, earlier this month, Louise says she found the same card again, this time along with a Christmas card, in Schofield’s work bag. She says the contents of the Christmas card revealed that he and the other woman, identified only as Michelle, had been seeing each other for over two years.
“The card mentioned ‘another amazing year’ and spoke about him spending Christmas with her family,” Louise said. “That was the same Christmas I hosted in our home.”
Louise says Schofield has since admitted to seeing Michelle on weekends and during the week when he claimed to be playing darts or meeting friends. She also claims he took Michelle to Robin Hood’s Bay in August 2023, saying at the time he was going with a male colleague. Louise says that while on this trip, Schofield was messaging her, saying how much he missed her and Mavis.
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She also claims that Schofield took Michelle to their family cottage in Bole Hill. Louise says he hid her belongings and the dog’s toys during these visits to keep up his deception.
Despite Schofield’s alleged admissions, Louise says he has also messaged her, claiming he does not love Michelle and wants to fix things with her and Mavis. “He said he tried to end things with her many times but ‘froze,’” Louise explained.
I need to find Michelle and save her
Now, Louise says she is determined to find Michelle, not out of revenge, but to warn her about Schofield. “I do want to find Michelle as she so deserves to know, and I feel like I will move heaven and earth to find her and protect her,” she said.
Louise fears that Schofield could hurt other women in areas such as Derby, Duffield, and Wirksworth. “The worst part is that all of what he has done to me, he has done to other women,” she said.
The betrayal has left Louise grieving not only for her relationship but also for the sense of security she and Mavis once had. “Mavis is just as affected as I am,” she said. “We’ve both lost the home we felt safe in, and it breaks my heart.”
Louise’s focus now is on piecing her life back together while uncovering the full extent of Schofield’s alleged double life. For her, finding Michelle is not just about getting answers but also about ensuring others are not hurt in the same way.
“I have suffered unimaginable pain over the years, and it took me 10 years to truly find love again after losing my previous partner,” Louise said. “To have all of that taken away in this way is something I wouldn’t wish on anyone.”
I thought I had found love again
For Louise, the betrayal cuts especially deep. She spent a decade grieving the loss of a previous partner, finally allowing herself to find love again with Dan in 2021.
“I was besotted,” she admitted.
Their shared interests, from cask ales at Wirksworth pubs to a mutual passion for animals, made Sarah feel like she had found her soulmate.
But behind the romantic facade lay secrets that Louise is now painfully piecing together. Her first inkling came last year when she discovered a Valentine’s Day card while cleaning their home.
Dan brushed it off, claiming it was from a “crazy ex” and had accidentally been mixed in with old belongings. Believing him, Sarah dismissed her suspicions—until she found the card again, alongside a Christmas card, in Dan’s work bag on January 13.
The messages inside left no room for doubt.
“The card mentioned ‘another amazing year,’ which means they’ve been together for more than two years,”
Louise explained. “He even spent Christmas with his family—while I hosted Christmas at our home.”
Louise says Dan has since admitted to seeing a woman named Michelle on weekends and during the week when he claimed to be playing darts or meeting friends.
He even took her to Robin Hood’s Bay in August 2023, under the guise of a work trip with a male colleague.
To Louise’s horror, Dan also brought Michelle to their family cottage in Bole Hill, hiding her belongings and Mavis’s toys to maintain his deceit.
Despite his confessions and pleas for forgiveness, Louise is consumed by the need for answers. She’s determined to find Michelle, not out of vengeance, but to warn her—and potentially other women in Derby, Duffield, and Wirksworth—about Dan’s alleged pattern of deceit.
Louise’s quest to find Michelle is as much about closure as it is about rebuilding her life. She’s shared photos of happier times—smiling with Dan and Mavis during a hike, their little family seemingly unbreakable—to illustrate the depth of what’s been lost.
For Louise and Mavis, the road ahead is uncertain, but one thing is clear: this is a journey of healing, resilience, and, above all, truth.
