The couple were spotted in Bordeaux after 8 days on the run, and Forrest was arrested and this year found guilty of abduction and sexual activity with a child, and sentenced to five and a half years in prison.
The schoolgirl, known by the cover name she used in France ‘Gemma’, is now 16 and living with her stepparents after falling out with her mother following the scandal surrounding her disappearance.
The teenager’s stepmother has spoken out to a UK newspaper for the first time, reliving the terror of her stepdaughter vanishing.
'When Gemma first went missing, we were desperate, clutching at straws. We thought she'd been abducted by a stranger and that we'd never see her alive again’, she admits.
'For the first 72 hours, we had no idea that her teacher had gone missing, too. We didn't have a clue about their relationship. We went out scouring the streets looking for Gemma, peering over fences and trying the doors of empty houses.'
‘So many awful, hurtful things have been written about Gemma by people who don't know her or the truth,' adds Dawn- not her real name.
Speaking about Gemma’s struggle to adjust back to normal life at her new sixth form college, Dawn explains:
'He took our kid and that is unforgivable'
'She is very humble and apologetic over the upset she's caused. She never stops saying sorry, but she was only 15. She didn't realise her whole life was going to be splattered all over the papers and the internet.’
And despite Gemma’s declarations of love for her former teacher, Dawn admits she still cannot accept Jeremy’s actions.
'What I will never understand was what was going through Jeremy Forrest's head.
'He was her teacher. He was in a position of trust. If he really loved her, wouldn't he have waited until she was older, or at the very least let her parents know she was safe?'
But it seems Dawn may have to accept Jeremy into their family at some point, admitting:
‘Gemma loves him, and as far as we are aware she is just waiting until he comes out of prison.
'I can't lie and say there haven't been times when I have screamed and cursed, called for his blood.He took our kid and that is unforgivable, but that kind of anger eats you up and you have to let it go.
'He's been punished. We don't hate him. But, to be honest, I'm not sure he'd ever come round here for tea and cake. We will never feel 100 per cent confident about him.
'I'd like Gemma to meet someone and be happy. If that someone is Jeremy, it's Jeremy. We'll support her whatever she decides.'