It happened so fast, but it was perfect!
Divorce Mark Smedmor had been looking forward to his holiday in Portugal for months. The 46-year-old was single again following the end of a 19-year marriage and a 10-month relationship, so he was ready to embrace life (and the beach) again as a single man.
But things never quite happen the way you planned. Just before he was due to fly to Portugal, Mark dropped a quick "hello" email to a woman he'd spotted on DatingDirect.com, and nothing was ever the same for him again.
"Her photos on the site wowed me," says Mark. "And her profile was very sincere. So I sent a 'hi' message." Bridget, 38, was rather pleased to get it, since she'd seen and liked Mark's own profile but had been too shy to make a move.
Bridget had also been married, and was bringing up her nine-year-old son as a single mum whilst juggling a job as a payroll manager. Like Mark, she was looking for a serious relationship rather than a bit of fun.
However she admits that her initial attraction to Mark was physical. "I wanted someone who was handsome and sexy, and Mark looked fit in his photo - and he also had kind eyes."
The mutual attraction was carried over into their emails and phone calls, which flew thick and fast. The pair got along so well that they arranged to meet up just five days after their first phone conversation.
The one problem was that Mark lived on the Isle of Wight and Bridget was a ferry ride away on the mainland. "I was a bit unsure whether things would work out because of that," admits Mark. "But the distance was really only a few miles, so I thought: go for it."
When Mark and Bridget met at the King's Head pub in Yarmouth, they chatted for hours. Things were going swimmingly - except that Mark was about to leave for his single-man's jaunt to Portugal.
"Suddenly I didn't want to go on holiday," says Mark. "But Bridget told me to go, because I'd already paid for it. So I went."
It proved to be the turning point in Mark and Bridget's fledgling relationship. Rather than throw himself into the sangria-soaked social life, Mark spent every evening in an internet caf©, chatting online to Bridget.
"I think a lot of trust built up between us when we spent that week chatting online. We spent hours talking honestly about ourselves and our lives. All I wanted to do was come back and see her."
Four weeks after their first meeting, Mark asked Bridget to marry him - and she said yes. "It happened so fast, but it was perfect. We married in Barbados, I sold my house on the mainland, Bridget rented her flat out and we bought a beautiful bungalow together in Sandown on the island."
Three years on from that first email, Mark and Bridget couldn't be happier. "We are so happy and so in love, says Mark. "Our plans now are just to build a happy family unit and live as long as possible. Who knows what's going to happen along the way? We just want to be happy, whatever we do together."
