'Pull a pig' prankster says 'victim' invented romance and they never had sex

Sophie Stevenson, 24, from Stoke, flew 400 miles to meet her lover in Amsterdam only to be told she was the victim of a cruel 'pull a pig' prank.

The Dutch student accused of a cruel "pull a pig" stunt today said his "victim" invented their romance and insisted they never had sex or arranged to meet in Amsterdam.

Sophie Stephenson broke down in tears as she claimed Jesse Mateman tricked her into flying to The Netherlands after a holiday romance in Spain.

Sophie, 24, from Stoke said he then sent her a text to say "You've been pigged" when she landed in Amsterdam, according to Daily Mail.

But today 21-year-old student Jesse denied her claims, saying: "We actually met in Barcelona, ​​but I never had a romance with her.

"I've been in a hotel room with her, but I never slept with her. We are not and never were in love, as suggested."

Jesse told Mail Online he had now hired a lawyer to fight back against the story that has gone viral around the world.

"There was no romance with Sophie. We did not sleep together and I did not message her everyday. That is just fantasist rubbish and it is ruining my life."

He denied messaging Sophie at all after meeting her in Spain.

He told MailOnline: "After Barcelona, ​​I did not have any telephone contact with her.

"The messages contained in those tabloids are either made by Sophie or by the newspapers, because I did not send them."

Jesse said he had no idea she would be in Schiphol [Amsterdam] after she claimed they had arranged to meet.

"In fact, I wonder if Sophie has been at Schiphol at all. I have no idea," he went on.

Her mother Julie Stevenson said her daughter is "in absolute bits" after falling victim to the alleged "stunt" that sees creepy men compete to chat up women they deem to be 'the fat ugly girl'.

Julie told MailOnline: "It is a good job this lad lives in Holland because if he was here I'd string him up. He would call her everyday and Sophie was so excited and would go off and take the call."

"He said he wanted to come and visit her in Manchester and was planning a visit. He then said he could not wait and asked if Sophie would come over to Amsterdam.

The cruel prankster came clean in a devastating text.

"Sophie said as she was getting on the plane he was calling her and telling her he couldn't wait to meet her at the hotel.

"It just shows you the lengths he was going to to make a fool of my daughter."

Sophie said she forked out £350 ($651) on the flight after being invited to the Dutch capital by her Jesse, who she met in Barcelona in August.

The alleged prankster, from the southern town of Doetinchem, Netherlands, has faced a backlash in his home country, where he was attacked as "a male-chauvinistic pig".

Julie added: "He has shattered her confidence and most nights she just sits there in tears. It is breaking my heart to see how this has affected her. Why would any man do that to a woman. It is just heartless.

"She let me know she had arrived and about three hours later she called from the hotel to say he wasn't there. She thought something might have happened to him and said she would wait.

"After about six hours she rang me howling down the phone in tears and told me about the pig text message he had sent her.

"I couldn't believe it and felt devastated for Sophie as she had so been looking forward to the trip. I told her to get on the first plane home.

"She has been humiliated by that man and I don't know why.

"Why would he go to such lengths to string her along for all this time."

Meanwhile Sophie's father Andrew told the Sun: "As soon as I heard I wanted to go over there and find him.

"She is a beautiful, confident, gorgeous girl and how dare that b*****d do anything like this."

Julie said her daughter and Dutchman Jesse Mateman had bonded while on holiday in Barcelona and getting caught up in the terror attack.

She told MailOnline: "They felt they had a connection because of what happened in Barcelona, but he was probably planning this all along. My daughter really thought he had some feelings for her, but instead he has been planning this all along.

"It hurts me so much to see her so dejected. It is going to take a lot to build up her confidence. Something should be done to this man to make him stop. You have to wonder if there are others he has tricked or what he will do next time."

On her arrival in Amsterdam, Mateman sent Ms Stevenson the message: "You were pigged" and added two pigs and a laughing face emojis before adding, "It was all a joke."
Heartbroken Miss Stevenson replied: "How could you be so cruel though!"

The humiliated bar supervisor from Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, had been excited to be reunited with Mateman and travelled some 500 miles only to be brutally dumped.

The 24-year-old broke down in tears as she came to terms with her rejection alone in a foreign country.

Mateman was messaging her minutes before her departure - but when she arrived in Amsterdam he ignored her calls.

They had slept together after meeting when they were caught up in the Barcelona terror attack which killed 13 people and injured 130, on August 17.

Miss Stevenson said: "All my friends and family cannot believe someone could be so cruel. It's one thing to have a joke, but this goes well beyond banter."

Holed up with their pals in the Pension Solarium - a one minute walk from the attack in August - the group struck up a relationship and Miss Stevenson and Mateman paired off.

She said: "I went to Barcelona with my friend Michelle and we arrived the day before the terror attack. We were staying really close to where the attack happened.

"On that day, we were so lucky, we'd just nipped out to buy some drinks and food and were sitting on the terrace when we started hearing gunshots.

"When we looked over we saw people running everywhere, it was really scary.

"The hotel was on lockdown after that and everything was shut for the day, so we stayed in and that's when we met Jesse and his three friends.

"We were there for four more days, and felt safe while we were with them, so we hung out loads.

"It was a proper holiday romance for Jesse and me. We slept together in Barcelona and when I came back to the UK, we carried on talking every day.

"We talked about having a long distance relationship."

Back in the UK, Miss Stevenson carried on messaging and calling Mateman, and they discussed giving things a go.

The pair planned for her three-day visit and she spent £350 ($651) on a hotel and flights, travelling from Manchester to Amsterdam on September 29.

She said: "We had talked about me coming to visit, and he knew I'd booked flights, that I'd paid for a hotel and he was going to meet me when I arrived at 5pm on Friday.

"We were talking up until I got on the plane. But when I arrived, he wasn't there to pick me up.

"I called him a bunch of times, and he didn't answer. I waited at the airport for two hours and I hadn't heard anything, I was really starting to panic about being abandoned.

"There was a free shuttle bus to the hotel, so I made my way there and six hours later he finally messaged me - on Snapchat."

Mateman swiftly blocked Miss Stevenson after his alleged taunting messages.

She added: "Pulling a pig is where a guy tries to pull the fat ugly girl. When I saw that message, I wanted to be sick.

"I was in a foreign country, on my own and the guy that I liked had just abandoned me.

"I replied and said 'how could you be so cruel' and all he did was block me.. I just couldn't believe it.

"I had no way of contacting him. I was petrified being in Amsterdam all on my own.

"I was so upset about what happened that I changed my flights so I could head home the next morning.

"I am furious that this happened and it's so dangerous. I want people to know what happened to me so that this never happens to anyone else."

Miss Stevenson, who has been unable to contact Mateman since the incident, said her friends and family are mortified.

She said: "Given the circumstance of how we met, you'd think that he'd be slightly more sensitive. I can't believe this has happened to me."