Nice to meat you
Dressed in my fetching white overalls and hairnet, I made my way to the packing area.
I’d just started a new job at a meat factory.
Although it wasn’t the most glamorous, my workmates were lovely and we had a laugh.
What started as a temporary role became permanent.
‘We should go for a drink to celebrate,’ my colleague, Kev, suggested.
His friends at the factory had been teasing him about fancying me, with a few even asking me out on his behalf.
‘Sounds fun,’ I smiled.
That evening, walking into our local Wetherspoons, Kev was the only person at the table!
Soon, our conversation turned flirtatious.
At the end of the night, we shared our first kiss.
‘I’m so glad no one else came,’ I told Kev.
We’ve now been married for 17 years and share two teenage daughters.
He’s definitely steaked a place in my heart!
Shelly Hansen, 45, Westhoughton, Bolton
Message to my heart
Logging on to my computer, I held my breath as I waited for MSN to load.
I wonder if he’s replied, I thought, on tenterhooks.
A few months earlier, aged 17, I’d been looking online for people to chat to and began messaging David via the online Windows messenger service.
He lived in Canada, more than 3000 miles away from my home in Scotland.
Suddenly, on the screen, I saw a little number one by his name and my heart fluttered — he’d messaged!
What started off as friendly chat quickly became in-jokes and flirting.
I was thinking we should Skype? he typed one day.
The following week, after swiping on some lipgloss, I switched on my webcam.
‘Hi, how are you?’ I said as his face came into view.
He was just as gorgeous as his photos, with a lovely smile.
Eight months later, David, 20, arrived at my doorstep, having flown across the sea to see me.
We got married four years later and I moved to Canada.
We now have four beautiful children and are moving back to Scotland next year.
MSN Messenger may not exist any more — but I’m so glad it sparked a lasting connection!
Dawn Slater, 35
Bagging a hubby
Sitting on a hard plastic chair at the job centre, I nervously tapped my foot.
I’d been invited to a second interview for a position at Iceland.
‘Is Tanisha here?’ someone said, before a handsome man poked his head round the door.
As I sat across from my interviewer, Adam, I tried hard to concentrate on his questions.
But I kept getting distracted by his brown eyes and sexy smile.
I was offered the job, but almost didn’t go for it as the training was far from home and I couldn’t get childcare.
But Adam went out of his way for me, even driving to my home to drop off my uniform — a 90-minute round trip!
After months of working together, including stacking shelves and scanning crumpets, we got to know each other.
It wasn’t long before we fell in love and had a baby.
And we swapped the supermarket aisle for a wedding aisle when we recently tied the knot.
Love finds you when you least expect it.
Tanisha Smith, 31, Lincoln, Lincolnshire
Good call
Lying on my bed, my phone pressed to my ear, I listened as my best friend, Katie, chatted away.
At 17, we were constantly on the phone gossiping.
‘I just need to pop to the toilet,’ she said.
I expected her to hang up and call me back but instead she said: ‘Chat to David for a second.’
Then she handed the phone to her older brother.
‘Hello,’ he said, sounding a bit confused.
But moments later, we were getting on like a house on fire.
It was strange, but somehow, we just clicked.
‘Can I get your number?’ he asked.
For days, we texted non-stop, my face lighting up whenever his name flashed up on my screen.
Now, more than 17 years later, we have our own home, a business together, a husky and our beautiful five-year-old daughter.
And after all this time, David still rings my bell!
Genna Hunt, 34, Eastleigh, Hampshire
Cher the love
Climbing into the passenger seat of my friend’s car, I checked my hair in the wing mirror.
‘Are you sure about this?’ she asked.
I was going on a first date with David, a man I’d met online.
I was nervous, but pulling up, David was so handsome.
‘I thought we could go to Brannigans,’ he suggested.
There was a Cher tribute act on at the pub.
Sitting down, I couldn’t help but laugh.
But the hours went by and I felt myself falling for David to the sound of ‘Cher’ belting out Believe.
Months later, we were a couple and I’d come to David’s parents’ house for lunch.
It was 30 March and my late parents’ wedding anniversary.
‘I feel a bit sad they aren’t here today,’ I said to David’s mum.
‘It’s our anniversary, too,’ David’s dad said, pulling his mum in close.
It turned out David’s parents and my mum and dad had got married on the same day, in the same church, one after the other!
They say some people are destined to meet and I’m sure David and I were.
We’ve been together 23 years now and married for 15.
And we’re still Cher fans!
Angela Spooner, 53, Sheffield, South Yorkshire