Happy endings: Irene and Marcus

How a tiny fitness teacher found love with her “gentle giant” detective

Height is no barrier to true love, Just ask Will Smith (6’2”) and his wife Jada Pinkett (4’11”), or Sophie Dahl (5’11”) and fiance Jamie Cullum (5’4”). So when five-feet-nothing Irene met 6’5” “gentle giant” Marcus, she wasn’t bothered by their eyeball-to-elbow height difference. In fact, it was part of the attraction.

“I like a man to be big, so meeting Marcus was like all my Christmasses and birthdays rolled into one,” says Irene, 31.

When police detective Marcus, 37, saw fitness instructor Irene at a Solihull restaurant after meeting on DatingDirect.com, the attraction was mutual. “She’s so bubbly, I couldn’t help being attracted to her,” says Marcus. “Irene has such a great smile, and a great figure! She was my first date through Dating Direct, and we both knew right away that it was fate.”

Two days after their first date, Irene didn’t have to wonder whether Marcus would call – he sent a huge bouquet of flowers to her workplace.

Easter thrills and spills

Marcus’s generosity continued with their second date, which fell on Good Friday. The thoughtful detective turned up with a “huge” Easter egg from luxury chocolatier Hotel Chocolate. “I’d given up chocolate for Lent,” says Irene, “so receiving an Easter egg from the best chocolate shop on the planet was such a nice gesture.”

However, the evening almost ended in disaster when Irene spilled a full glass of cola on her pristine white top. “I had to sit through the rest of the date looking like I’d been dragged out of a dustbin,” remembers Irene. “It didn’t make me want to go home, though!”

The romance soon turned into what Irene calls “a massive whirlwind”. Three months after they met, Irene and Marcus were holidaying on the gorgeous Greek island of Kefalonia, made famous by Captain Corelli’s Mandolin. Just a few months after that, Marcus asked Irene to be his wife.

A Cinderella proposal

s proposals go, it was quite a humdinger. “Marcus carved the words ‘Marry me’ into a pumpkin, put a diamond ring inside, and hid it in a big public Halloween display,” says Irene. The bride said “yes,” and the groom’s creative proposal made in onto the radio news and into the pages of newspapers and magazines.

The couple married exactly 11 months later in September last year, before jetting off for an unforgettable three-week honeymoon in Hong Kong, Bangkok and Koh Samui.

When you speak to Irene and Marcus now, it’s clear that the flame burns as bright as the day they met two years ago. Like so many couples, they remember their first meeting as a fateful near miss.

“I’d actually tried to cancel my online dating membership, but I made a hash of the cancellation,” says Irene. “It was only then that I noticed my email from Marcus. The rest is history.”

Her hero

Despite the couple’s foot-and-a-half height difference, they’re extremely compatible. Their joint enthusiasm for fitness is a case in point. It was Irene who had the real work-out expertise when they met, and she promptly helped Marcus shed three stone from his “gentle giant” frame.

“I need to stay on my toes,” says Irene (and she doesn’t mean literally). “With his job as a criminal investigation detective and his great physique, I need to watch all the ladies!”

But Irene is as pleased as punch about her husband’s job. “Of course his size is impressive and I find him a stunning man, but I’m also very attracted by the fact that Marcus loves his job. I also like that he’s into fitness and motorbikes. A man should be a man, and Marcus definitely fits that category!”

She may think he’s the macho one, but Marcus reckons that his tiny wife has enough energy for both of them. “She has so much drive, I think it’s her best quality,” he says. “She never sits still for a minute.”

But surely they can’t be in harmony on everything? Irene admits that there are clashes in opinion between her and her husband. “Marcus can be very opinionated when it comes to his job. He sees anyone committing crime as the same; they all deserve the punishment they get.

“I think a lot of criminals need help rather than punishment, and we have endless debates about it. But I guess his feelings are what make him so good at his job.”

So what does Marcus have to say? “Irene can live in a naïve bubble, where she trusts everyone and always sees the good in people. That’s a good quality, but the people I meet in my job… their intentions are never good.”

The couple may disagree, but they clearly respect each other’s opinions. Marcus sounds protective when he discusses his wife’s trusting attitude, and Irene doesn’t paint Marcus as a heartless criminal-hater. “Actually he’s the kindest, gentlest man I’ve ever met.”

Here’s to the future

The future looks bright for these newlyweds. They both have their fantasies – Irene of flying with Marcus in a hot air balloon at dusk, and Marcus of seeing his future son winning a Motocross championship. They want to start a family, and they dream of relocating to Australia one day. But that’s all for the future. Right now, they’re just one very happy couple.

“I may need a stepladder to kiss my husband,” says Irene, “but we can’t have everything, can we? Our size difference makes us stand out, but neither of us really cares.”

Irene sends an optimistic message to anyone searching for their soulmate. “Just be patient, and enjoy your single days in the meantime. When the time is right, that person will be along to sweep you up.”