Lynthia Calliste came to the UK from Grenada in March 2018 on a six-month visitor visa. When that permission ended, she stayed. Years later, she built a new life, brought her son to join her, and married Konstantin Vinakovs, a Latvian-born forklift driver with settled status.

Now, she fights a deportation order and frames the issue as more than paperwork. First, she says separation would fracture her family at the very moment her teenage son needs stability for his exams. Next, she argues that relocating her husband would upend his work, his routines, and his close ties to family in Latvia, who can reach the UK far more easily than the Caribbean.

Then came the detail that set social media buzzing. She told the court her husband struggles with Grenadian cuisine and worries about constant heat and humidity. She insists people misunderstood her point. She says a holiday and an occasional spicy meal do not prepare someone for daily life in a tropical climate.

However, she places her strongest emphasis elsewhere. She says she fears a violent former partner in Grenada. She also claims a hurricane destroyed her family home, leaving her with nowhere to return.

For now, the appeal process continues. Meanwhile, the couple repeats one steady message: they have planted roots in England, and they want to keep their family together.