JavaFX imageview setImage returns null and doesn't work

I'm trying to set the imageView img_1 with the 1st image of my database. For some reason it doesn't work and I can't figure out why. The method loadImage is called in a different class.

public class MainMenuController implements Initializable 
{
    /**
     * Initializes the controller class.
    */
    @Override
       public void initialize(URL url, ResourceBundle rb) {
       // TODO
    }

    //DBConnect dbimg = new DBConnect();
    @FXML
    private void openSecondWindow(ActionEvent event) {
    try {
        GUIController ctrl = new GUIController();
        ctrl.loadImg();
        //ctrl.firstScreen();
    } catch (Exception e) {
        System.out.println(e.getMessage());
    }
}

I also tried setting the image in a separate method, but I need it called at the same time as the whole stage scene etc is created, even after calling it like that from a second method it doesn't work.

Here is the class holding the setImage

@FXML
private ImageView img_1;

@FXML
private AnchorPane stck1;

ResultSet rs = null;
Statement stmnt = null;
Connection con = null;

String host = "jdbc:derby://localhost:1527/InteractiveGameDatabase;allowMultiQueries=true";
String unm = "Kylar";
String pswrd = "aswzxc";

BufferedImage imgt = null;
InputStream fis = null;
int xcoord;
int ycoord;
int newcoord;

String SQL = "SELECT*FROM location";


public ImageView loadImg() throws IOException {

    try {

        Stage stage = new Stage();
           AnchorPane stck1 = ((AnchorPane) FXMLLoader.load(InteractiveFictionGame2.class.getResource("GUI.fxml")));

        stck1.getChildren().addAll();
        Scene scene = new Scene(stck1);
        stage.setTitle("Interactive Fiction Game");
        stage.setScene(scene);
        stage.sizeToScene();
        stage.show();

        String SQL = "SELECT*FROM location";
        con = DriverManager.getConnection(host, unm, pswrd);
        stmnt = con.createStatement(ResultSet.TYPE_SCROLL_SENSITIVE, ResultSet.CONCUR_READ_ONLY);
        rs = stmnt.executeQuery(SQL);
        rs.next();
        fis = rs.getBinaryStream(4);
        imgt = javax.imageio.ImageIO.read(fis);
        Image newImg = SwingFXUtils.toFXImage(imgt, null);

Setting the image gives me a value null when called, the default value for imageview is null but I am actually loading an image even checked with newImg.isError() - which came back as "image loaded = true" . The next method call on button click is to set the imageView again and that works.

        img_1.setImage(newImg)
        rs.close();
        stmnt.close();
        con.close();
    } catch (SQLException e) {
        System.out.println(e.getMessage());
    }
    return img_1;
}

This is the second method which works

public ImageView goNorth() throws IOException { try {

        String SQLNorth = "select vista from location where ycoordinate = ? and xcoordinate = ?";
        System.out.println("coords are" + xcoord + ycoord);
        newcoord = ycoord + 1;
        System.out.println("New coord x and y are" + xcoord + newcoord);

        con = DriverManager.getConnection(host, unm, pswrd);
        stmnt2 = con.prepareStatement(SQLNorth);
        stmnt2.setInt(1, newcoord);
        stmnt2.setInt(2, xcoord);
        rs = stmnt2.executeQuery();
        rs.next();
        fis2 = rs.getBinaryStream(1);
        imgt2 = javax.imageio.ImageIO.read(fis2);
        Image newImg = SwingFXUtils.toFXImage(imgt2, null);
        img_1.setImage(newImg);


    } catch (SQLException e) {
        System.out.println(e.getMessage());
    }
    return img_1;
}

I don't understand exactly how am I to fetch the controller the whole class is the controller ?! What is the correct way to do it, I was just looking at the getClass() method and I can't understand am I calling the getClass on a class or on the whole package and in the path specifying which class I'm setting as the controller ?

@FXML
 private void openSecondWindow(ActionEvent event) {
        try {
            FXMLLoader loader;
            loader = new FXMLLoader(GUIController.class.getClass().getResource("GUI.fxml").toExternalForm());
            Parent parent =loader.load();
            GUIController ctrl = loader.getController();
            ctrl.loadImg();
            //ctrl.firstScreen();
        } catch (Exception e) {
            System.out.println(e.getMessage());
        }
    }