The 44 -year - old mum of nine who left her husband and kids for her new man, who is 12 years her junior , has said that the love she has for her lover was stronger than any considerations.
Heidi had met Gambian lover on Facebook , claiming that before then, her marriage to husband Andy was over .
Last month Heidi ’ s heartbroken husband Andy , also 44 , spoke of his horror at discovering his wife of 23 years had gone off to meet Salieu , who had contacted her on Facebook from The Gambia , West Africa .
Her decision sparked a police investigation and Andy said: “ It ’s a mid -life crisis. The person she has become is horrible .
“ A caring mum wouldn’t go offgallivanting around Africa with her new boyfriend . ”
SEE ALSO: British mother - of -nine leaves UK husband for Gambian lover
Heidi has defended her actions , saying : “ I don’ t have a single regret . I ’m not a terrible parent .
“ It was really hard for me to leave my kids, but they couldn’t come with me , so I had no choice.
“ I was shocked at the anger that was directed at me for supposedly abandoning my children . That just didn’ t happen .”
Heidi has two sons and a daughter aged 24 to 29 from a previous relationship . She and Andy have three daughters aged six , nine and 23 and three sons aged 11 , 17 and 18 .
She added : “ The three youngest were left with my eldest daughter . She moved into my home while I was away so that they were disrupted as little as possible .
“ I went online every night and we video- chatted. They seemed happy and I know my kids well .
“ They also chatted to Salieu and have become very fond of him through talking online over the past few months .
“ If people think I went over to The Gambia and didn’t give them a second thought, they are so wrong.
“ But having said that, I make no apologies for following my heart. I ’ve been unhappy for a long time and I think I have found someone to spend the rest of my life with .
“ We are in love and nothing will stop me from marrying him. If other people don ’t like that , they will just have to lump it .”
Heidi ’ s romance rocked her family and made her the talk of her town , Hetton-le- Hole in Sunderland .
Car mechanic Andy blamed her online romance for killing their marriage , but Heidi insists the relationship was over before Salieu first sent her a Facebook friend request.
She also claims Andy was messaging women online behind her back , which he denies .
Heidi said : “ Andy and I didn’t even share a bedroom, never mind a bed , for the last two years of our marriage .
“ We were both unhappy and on some days the most conversation I would get from him would be when he ’d say , ‘Put the kettle on . ’
“ At the end of last year , I picked up his phone to look up a number my daughter wanted and saw messages from two women . It was a big shock.
“ We drifted even further apart and I was so unhappy . I started volunteering at the children’ s school, just so I had some contact with other people and could feel better about myself.
“ In February I started to talk online to Salieu after he sent me a friend request out of the blue . At first we were just chatting, asking about each other’ s lives and hobbies .
“ But as I got to know him I started to confide in him about how badly things were going wrong in my marriage , he was there for me to talk to .
“ Andy has claimed I sent sexy pictures to Salieu , but I didn’ t , that simply isn ’ t true . ”
She added: “ After a few months we were in touch with each other all day , every day via WhatsApp and I knew I was starting to develop feelings for him and he said he was feeling the same .
“ I was falling in love with him. ”
Although she had never flown or even been abroad , Heidi travelled to The Gambia at the end of October to meet shopkeeper Salieu in person for the first time .
But locals back home were furious at her arrangements for her three youngest children.
Their school was tipped off , leading to a police investigation , but officers were satisfied the kids we