When Marilyn Jarrett tied the knot, she thought her lonely days were behind her, but now her young Jamaican husband has been barred from living in Britain. She talks to Women's Editor Sarah Foster about the love she says is real

THE smiling woman in the pictures looks every inch the happy bride. She's dressed traditionally in white with a bouquet of vivid red, and at her side the handsome groom stands very tall and very proud.

This is the day that Marilyn Jarrett says was the happiest of her life; the day in October 2003 when she was married to her sweetheart. The problem is that since that time, the pair have mostly been apart.

Though Marilyn's husband, chef Denoird, would love to live with her in Britain, because he hasn't got a visa he cannot move here from Jamaica. Despite being married for four years it seems his motives are in doubt, with the authorities not believing the union is legitimate.

And although she's happy to admit that she'd expect there to be questions, as far as Marilyn is concerned, the couple's love is set in stone.

She says their meeting wasn't planned, but that they just appeared to click. "I went on holiday with my sister and my brother-in-law and some friends, and Denoird worked in the hotel where we stayed," says the 52-year-old, who lives in Ushaw Moor, near Durham. "It was November time - it will be about five years ago - and that was the first time I'd ever been to Montego Bay.

"Denoird asked my sister about me and then my sister told me to go up to see him, so I did. He just asked me if he could take me out one night and I said yeah', and he took me out on the Wednesday night. We went a few yards down the road to a bar in front of the sea and we sat and talked, getting to know each other, and then he walked me back to the hotel. He wanted to see me again and I said I would because we seemed to get on."

Throughout the rest of Marilyn's stay the pair continued seeing each other.

When it was time for her to leave she says she did so with regret. "It was a sad time when we had to part and I thought I'd never see him again," she admits. "I thought it was just a holiday romance, but as soon as I got back to England he was ringing me, which I was surprised about. We kept in touch and he asked me if I'd ever go back, so I saved up as much as I could and I went back for 18 days to stay with him and his family."

While on the surface things were perfect, Denoird was harbouring a secret.

When he had found out Marilyn's age he'd told her he was 35 and it was only at their wedding that he revealed that he had lied - he was in fact some ten years younger.

By then it didn't matter: she'd grown to love him for himself.

"I wasn't really annoyed,"

says Marilyn, a former widow with three children. "He should have told me really, but he was frightened in case I wouldn't go with him because apparently it was mainly love at first sight on his side. All my family know his age and they say age doesn't matter if we really love each other, which we do."

At first the couple felt that Marilyn should join Denoird in Jamaica and having married at his home, they made inquiries.

Until the matter was resolved, Marilyn had to travel. "I went over for six months at a time and then came back to see family and then went back over again for another six months," she says.

"I was sorting out my paperwork to live over there, but I didn't know what to do really. There's nobody to explain to you about how to do things like that."

It was while visiting her daughter, who lives not far from her in Durham, that something tragic happened to make Marilyn re-think her application. It was April of last year, when the World Cup was in full swing, and as her grandson, Ryan Marshall, cycled home to watch a match, he was knocked down and killed. With all the family in mourning Marilyn knew her place was with them, but when her husband tried to join her he was turned down flat.

"I tried for a visa when we lost Ryan to see if he could come to the funeral, but he was refused," she says. "They kept on about the age difference, as if he only married me to get over here, but to me that's rubbish - he wouldn't have spent five years waiting, he would have got fed up by now. They've written that it's not a genuine marriage."

Now Marilyn says she has decided to remain in County Durham and that she'll battle tooth and nail for Denoird's right to live there too. She feels she needs him more than ever as she could be facing cancer. "They did a mammogram and an ultrasound and there was a shadow on my left breast," she explains. "I need somebody with me. I can't depend on my daughter all the time and I need my husband in case there is anything seriously wrong.

"To me it's not a marriage being apart.

I try to ring every night or he rings me and in between we text each other, but it upsets me. My grandkids want to meet him and my mum would love to meet him - he's got no end of family over here who want to meet him. I know they've got to be careful who they do let over, but give him a chance. They could even give him a six-month visa and then check later on to see if we're still together."

A spokeswoman for the Border and Immigration Agency said all applications were considered on their merit and in accordance with immigration rules, and that anyone refused a visa on the basis of marriage to a British citizen had a full right of appeal.

The situation isn't hopeful: one appeal has been turned down and there's little sign of a reprieve, yet Marilyn says she'll keep on fighting in defiance of the odds.

No matter what the outcome is, she is determined to stay married. "No way am I divorcing my husband for anybody," she says vehemently. "We love each other.

We just want to be together."