What began as a picture-book holiday at Florida’s Solterra Resort — an upmarket retreat of palm-fringed villas and private pools — ended in the kind of scandal that resorts try to keep out of their marketing brochures. On August 3, British businessman Mark Gibbon, 62, was arrested for allegedly trying to drown his former daughter-in-law, 33-year-old Jasmine Wyld, in the pool of their luxury rental villa.
Witness accounts and police statements paint a grim scene: Gibbon allegedly held Wyld’s head underwater multiple times, shoving his nine-year-old granddaughter aside when she leapt in to help. Only after onlookers intervened did the incident end. Gibbon, who admitted to pushing Wyld underwater but denied any intent to kill, told police he had been drinking.
A Holiday Set Against a Backdrop of Deep Division
The violent confrontation did not come out of nowhere. According to multiple sources close to the family, the Gibbon-Wyld dynamic has long been a lightning rod for conflict. Wyld is the ex-wife of Gibbon’s son, Alex, and the mother of his two grandchildren. Their marriage ended in 2021, but by then suspicions were already circulating about her closeness to Gibbon.
Those suspicions reportedly became certainty for Alex when, on a weekend visit, he found Wyld at his father’s home — in his father’s bed. Although Wyld has denied any impropriety while married to Alex, claiming she stayed there by accident after a night out, the discovery detonated what little stability remained in the family.
The fallout escalated in 2023 into outright violence: during a heated argument, Alex ran over Gibbon with his £80,000 Porsche. He served prison time for causing serious injury by dangerous driving and has since severed all contact. His sister and mother — who divorced Gibbon years ago — have done the same.
Intertwined Lives, Intertwined Money
Despite the rupture with his children, Gibbon and Wyld grew closer, reportedly travelling together frequently with her kids. Their relationship extended into business: Gibbon is listed as a director of Wyld’s hairdressing company and also runs his own lighting firms, including one with celebrity and royal connections.
This mixture of personal intimacy, financial entanglement, and intergenerational resentment appears to have been a combustible combination. Multiple accounts suggest that the Florida poolside altercation may have been sparked by a dispute over Gibbon’s will. Allegedly, he informed Wyld that his £800,000 estate would go to his grandchildren — her children — but not to her.
If true, the choice of beneficiary would not have deprived her children but would have excluded her personally, cutting her out of any direct control over the money. For a couple whose romantic legitimacy is already contested within the family, such a financial snub could have been read as a sign of mistrust or even a prelude to separation.
Public Persona vs. Private Reality
Neighbours in Gibbon’s Beaconsfield street describe him as “a lovely guy” devoted to his grandchildren, often seen with Wyld and her kids. Social media posts from previous trips show them posing like a couple and enjoying holidays together. Yet behind that public image lies a web of grievances — estranged children, a business strained by personal conflicts, and a family divided not just by relationships, but by money, trust, and control.
From Luxury to Lock-Up
The Solterra Resort has had its share of disturbances, according to online reviews noting police interventions at drunken pool parties, but nothing on this scale. Gibbon now faces charges of attempted second-degree murder and battery, with a court date set for September 9. Wyld and her children are back in the UK.
Whether this case plays out as a drunken holiday fight gone too far, or as the flashpoint in a years-long saga of betrayal and power struggles, one thing is certain: the Florida sunshine did little to illuminate the truth in this family — it only exposed the fractures beneath the surface.
