Naomi Andrews, an accountant from Dartford, was sentenced to a community order last Tuesday (March 24).
Woolwich Crown Court heard that the couple had a serious argument on April 8, 2023, the day they were due to get married.
At 9pm Andrews’ fiancé made an excuse to leave the home and returned 30 minutes later as she was walking out of the house, the court heard.
She was alleged to have told him: “You might want to go upstairs, the bed is on fire.”
It emerged that the 43-year-old had set fire to three wedding dresses on his bed, burning the bed sheets in the process.
Andrews faced trial for numerous domestic related offences. She was acquitted of all charges except arson and criminal damage.
The criminal damage related to an incident on December 28, 2023, when she threw a Christmas tree across her fiancé’s dining room.
Sentencing, Recorder Nigel Sangster KC told Andrews: “I sat through this trial for over a week and quite frankly I was astonished at the way your relationship went.
“It was truly obsessive behaviour. Why you were still together after so many bust ups I really can’t imagine, but it culminated in this serious offence of arson.
“No matter how high emotions run, setting fire to things, especially when he wasn’t home and the fire could have spread, is not normal behaviour.”
The judge said arson would usually warrant a prison sentence due to the danger fire poses, but having thought “long and hard” he had decided she should be spared prison.
He cited her lack of previous convictions, her low risk of reoffending and the impact a prison sentence would have on her child.
Andrews was given a two-year community order including 150 hours of unpaid work and 20 days of rehabilitation activities.
“I hope we will never see you again in the criminal courts,” Recorder Sangster said.
