MAFS' Jay Howard 'frightened to death' in travel nightmare that ruined her holiday

Disability advocator Jay Howard, 32, said that respective unusual incidents took spot erstwhile visiting Spain which wholly 'ruined' her holiday

Jay Howard has shed airy connected a devastating acquisition she faced portion travelling overseas that near her hopeless to travel home. The world star, 32, said that respective unusual incidents took spot erstwhile visiting Spain which wholly 'ruined' her holiday.

Speaking exclusively with the Mirror, she said: "[It was] astir 10 years ago, it’s happened a mates of times successful Spain, to beryllium fair. Like Salou, my sister was moving successful Salou for a word retired determination successful the summertime time.

"She did similar philharmonic theatre and each that benignant of worldly truthful I went retired to spell and conscionable her and [the locals] kicked maine retired of effect and veg stalls, they refused to springiness maine bottles of water, erstwhile I was offering to pay, they were checking my wealth to spot if it was real.

"I was conscionable similar wow, yea - mental. Every edifice that I went to they'd garbage maine oregon they'd service my friends and past didn’t service me. Brought their nutrient retired and were [to me] like, 'no you’re not invited here'.

"And I was like, 'why?' and they were conscionable like, 'no, not welcome'. They wouldn't springiness maine an answer." In 2023, Jay made past arsenic the archetypal disabled formed subordinate connected E4's Married At First Sight.

While she doesn't cognize for certain, she believes it was her limb quality that caused specified a absorption from Spanish locals. "Got kicked disconnected a tourer autobus successful Barcelona [too]," she continued. "I find it comic present but astatine the clip I was devastated, I was frightened to death, I wanted to travel home.

"It ruined my full holiday. I was determination for 10 days and I thought, 'nah I can’t beryllium present for 10 days, determination is nary way'. That was 3 days in, I thought, 'I request to spell home'."

Sadly, Jay isn't unsocial successful this experience. In 2021, the government's UK Disability Survey recovered that much than fractional of disabled radical interest astir being harassed oregon insulted successful nationalist places, portion a akin proportionality reported mistreatment owed to a disability.

Figures from travel marque Ocean Holidays besides bespeak that 'negative experiences' erstwhile booking oregon going connected vacation person impacted '65% of disabled people’s attitudes towards travelling'. And different 51% of respondents with a disablement associated holidays with stress.

In airy of her experiences, Jay precocious became an ambassador for limb quality foundation Reach and is present hosting nationalist speaking events successful assorted schools, workplaces and businesses. Last year, she besides led a first-of-its-kind chat amusement Unfiltered Women connected ITV alongside Samantha Renke and Fats Timbo to openly sermon question and thing other astir surviving successful a 'disabling world'.

"It’s thing that’s ne'er been done before, radical loved it, they privation much of it," Jay said. "It was light-hearted and it went the mode that I wanted it to go, it wasn’t each doom and gloom, it wasn’t each similar 'feel atrocious for the disabled [people]'.

"It was more, 'this is however we unrecorded but we unrecorded successful a affirmative way'. And the worldly that we are talking astir is the worldly that radical privation to cognize but they daren’t inquire due to the fact that they deliberation they are going to unfastened a tin of worms."

Reflecting connected her vacation nightmare, she added: "Thankfully it hasn’t happened since, I went to Barcelona concisely earlier I went connected a cruise past twelvemonth and I was fine. But to beryllium fair, I was lone determination for 1 day. That 1 time I was ok, thing happened."