A man who was left stunned after seeing his own gravestone at a cemetery has spoken out and revealed how all of his friends think he’s dead for months after his ex-wife set up the headstone.

75-year-old Alan Hattel from Tayside, Scotland, has claimed he was left confused and shocked after his friends stopped reaching out to him only to find out that his ex-wife declared him dead.

“People think that I’m dead. My phone hasn’t rung for three or four months. I’ve been confused by it all but now I know why nobody has been calling,” the senior man said.

As the retired welder claimed, his wife erected a headstone with his name on it, but no date of death, at Newmonthill Cemetery in Forfar.

According to Mr. Hattel, he wasn’t aware of what his ex had done until his social life started to decline and he was left with no one to talk to anymore.

Now, the elderly man is determined to let people know that he is still alive and kicking. He also reached out to the council officials in order to have the gravestone covered or removed.

As Hattel said, his ex-wife probably bought the lot at the cemetery in order to be buried there with him. While the man never agreed to this because he wants to be cremated, she had already prepared a headstone with both of their names on it.

While it is true that the names on the headstone are still free of dates of death, Hattel understands it can be easy for people to mistake him for being dead due to his name appearing on the gravestone.

“I’ve never, ever said I wanted to be buried alongside my ex-wife. We’ve been separated 26 years and there’s no animosity but I’m struggling to take it all in,” he added.

“To find out you have a gravestone in a cemetery while you are still alive isn’t something that happens every day.”

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