Single mum whose husband ‘ghosted’ her and their two children shares update after asking amateur internet speculators to help track him down so she can divorce him

A woman who pleaded for answers on social media after accusing her husband of ‘ghosting’ her and their two children has revealed he has now reached out to her – and explained why she deleted her now-viral Facebook- Bulletin.

Ashley McGuire from Massachusetts spoke with her friend and radio host Ashlee Feldman on JAM’N Morning Show on Monday and explained that former reality star chef Charles Withers has now texted her on an old number she had saved for him – but assumed it was inactive as he had ‘ignored her’ on it.

The single mother of four – who had two children before meeting Charles – stressed that she now just ‘wants to move on’.

“I don’t want any ties, I don’t want any connections, I just want the next chapter of my life to start,” she added. ‘At the end of the day, he dived. He took off.’

Ashley claimed the reason she took down the post was because Charles – who reportedly last saw his children ‘last April’ – said he would be ‘happy to speak to her but asked her to remove her employers’ information because it was a privacy risk’.

She added that she wasn’t the one who posted the information, but rather something the commenters had gathered.

“I haven’t even gone through to see the full extent of where he works,” she added. ‘I didn’t answer back.’

Ashley also said she initially put up the post because she thought someone in contact with her husband might come across the post and encourage him to ‘step it up’ and reach out to her.

“I really mean what I said, I have no ill will towards him,” Ashley told Ashlee. ‘I didn’t intentionally make him the most hated man out there by any means.

‘I hope he is good. For someone to turn their life upside down, there’s obviously some internal fighting going on there a lot.

‘But at the same time, just walking away from all responsibility, just walking away, like it’s never happened, is just – you can’t do that.

‘You must be held accountable. There has to be some respect for the situation and if you’re a guy out there who has someone taking care of your kids.

‘You are hands-off, you are not involved or vice versa, if you are a mother and you have a father who takes care of your children, respect them.

‘You don’t know how much goes into bringing a single parent. It’s a lot and I’ll do it… my kids will go to bed every night, I’ll give them an extra kiss to make up for what he’s not able to give, my kids will have a great life. .. but like, it’s a grind.’

She also insisted that her first post ‘could have been a lot worse’ and that she ‘left out a lot of details’, including ones that would ‘put him in a bad light’.

“I was very graceful, my goal was not to disrupt his whole life,” she said.

Ashely noted their past relationship that she ‘loved him more than anything’ in the past.

However, she explained that she was frustrated by his disappearance.

“You turned my life upside down,” she said. ‘The least you can do is not send me on a wild hunt to find you.’

Earlier last week, Ashley took to Facebook’s popular Are We Dating The Same Guy? group to make several incredible allegations about Charles.

The scorned spouse claimed she was pregnant when he allegedly disappeared, adding: ‘He has a baby he hasn’t seen in over a year and one he’s never met.’

She wrote that he was ‘gone without a trace’ and that she would now use the ‘power’ of social media to track him down and finalize a divorce.

The sordid saga was sparked when Ashley shared a post in the group on Saturday.

It read: ‘I’m really testing the power of Facebook with this…

‘This is my husband, Charles Withers. He loves being the center of attention, but I’m not sure how much he’ll like this.

‘Last year, when I was pregnant with our youngest baby, he decided being a husband and father wasn’t the lifestyle he wanted anymore and he joked, like no trace.

‘He has a baby he hasn’t seen in over a year and one he’s never met. He has moved somewhere out of state and has changed his phone number.’

She continued: ‘Breaking up with someone who is totally unattainable is really hard and drawn out so I’m trying to track him down so I’m trying to track him down to get his signature on a few papers so I can finally close this chapter and get on with my life.

‘I hear he’s going after “Charlie” now. He’s British and charming as f**k. He’s a chef and probably never mentioned having a wife with kids back in Massachusetts.

‘If you know him, if you work with him, if you date him or friends with him, please ask him to contact me or tell me where to find him.

Ashley’s post concluded: ‘A friend of a friend has been told where he is.’

Charles, who had previously appeared on an episode of Food Network’s Chopped in 2022, had been a rising star in the culinary world.

He had been at the helm of Falmouth’s C Salt Wine Bar and Grille.

And Ashley’s post sent the internet into a frenzy – as dozens of women rallied.

In a TikTok clip shared in the wake of the Mary Katherine Samples furore, which has since been viewed more than 4.1 million times, the internet speculator was just one of many to unpack the situation.

‘Ashley McGuire made a Facebook post asking the world to help find her missing husband Charlie Withers, who she believes has just abandoned his family – two children.

“It’s been a year since he left town. He has not contacted the family. What the hell Charlie? Where are you?

‘Last thing we know, he had opened a restaurant in Massachusetts where he was the chef, sold a ton of gift cards and then just took the money and closed the shop, leaving all the customers and employees in the dark with unpaid wages and useless gift cards.’

The creator, who has more than 132,000 followers, continued: ‘A lot of people are like what on earth is this disgusting game and why isn’t she concerned about his safety.

‘I don’t know the answer to that. It just seems that she somehow knows that he has left the family.

‘I really hope he’s found safe and quickly, but good lord, it’s been a wild ride.’

Mary’s claims about Charles’ restaurant have yet to be confirmed, but the eatery is listed as ‘permanently closed’ on Google.

That TripAdvisor page has also been hit by accusations of a similar nature.

One reviewer, named Bill, said he was ‘disgusted’ with Charles and slammed him as a ‘classless owner’.

Discussing her gift card, the disgruntled customer wrote: ‘I used it in November 2023 only to find out the restaurant is closed and stealing my gift card dollars! It should be illegal to steal customers’ unused dollars.’

He said that “Charles Withers deserves no patronage for his deception”.

Another, called Diane, wrote: ‘My daughter gave us a gift card and we booked our table for August 2nd. The reservation was confirmed by Open Table.

‘We were really looking forward to dinner but we got there and it was closed. I don’t know why we weren’t notified. I had given my contact information. As we were on holiday to Falmouth, there will be no opportunity to visit this restaurant again.

‘My daughter gave me a generous gift card for my birthday. It was very unfortunate and expensive for her and for us.’

But Ashley had since taken to the social media platform again to share an update.

‘UPDATE: Guys… This is absolutely insane. I figured there might be someone in my area who was still in touch with him, but I definitely didn’t expect this.

‘I’ve got more than enough information to find him. I have literally hundreds of messages to sort through, some with information and some with support, and I appreciate them all.

‘Single mums are a special breed and I know many of you have been through the same situation I have.’

But she was keen to stress that she did not ‘wish him any ill will’.

“I sincerely appreciate all your support, but please do not make threats, spread hate, or try to go out and find him,” she said. ‘I really just want to see this situation resolved so that me and my children can restart our lives and repair the damage.’

DailyMail.com had contacted Ashley and Charles for comment at the time.