26th September 2006.

Our very first kiss and the start of our fairy tale.

Thirteen years of kissing my best friend, my soul mate, the one God matched to me way before our existence. Yes, call me soppy and romantic (or delusional!) but I truly believe that.

I love our love story, it is really my favourite. From love and connection at first sight, to working through old relationships, to mutual friends, long distance messages and counting down sleeps to being together. And then kisses in the rain, immediate bonds and conquering years of across-the-sea long distance.

We have always meant to be. And I will always treasure this date – the day we shared our very first kiss (sopping wet in the midnight rain!) and we started dating. And the rest they say is history!

A few questions you asked on Instagram:

How and where did you meet?

MC and I actually met through a mutual guy friend. We were in a local nite club (Tiger Tiger) on the dance floor and this said friend called me to look at MC’s belt (yes, belt!) so I turned around and looked straight down at his crotch area (cringe!) at a very steamy cowboy belt that had a spinning buckle. And the first words out of my mouth were “How’s that package?”

Yes, I did! And I could have died… But it’s a funny story to tell now! We then exchanged a very awkward hello as I looked into the dreamiest blue eyes and gorgeous smile (and wanted to sink into a deep hole forever!) It’s amazing how standing in a certain angle can make certain jeans bulge… Again, cringe! I’m not going to lie though, as embarrassing as it was, it was a great  ice breaker and we couldn’t stop laughing!

How long after meeting did you start dating?

Our infamous dance floor meeting was the beginning of 2005 – we were both in complicated relationships and only almost two years later, after both being single for a while, did we reconnect and get in touch. We shared our first kiss and started dating on this day in 2006.

How did you reconnect again before dating?

After both being single for months and me being in South Africa and MC in the UK, we reconnected again when I answered his friends phone one night whilst we were out (great tactic on the friends behalf!) We chatted that night, exchanged numbers and I made the first move (yes I admit it!) via message by taking three days to pluck up the courage to send a very platonic text message. We then spent three months sending messages, emails, and calls getting to know each other from across the seas – which all built up to the weekend he flew home for the 6 month Summer…

Where was your first kiss?

We shared our first kiss in a parking lot outside a nite club (Casablanca) in the pouring rain.

Side note: I had gone out with girl friends and MC had told me he was cozy on the couch watching a movie, he wasn’t gong to join the night out because all his friends were away or busy. I arrived at the nite club, received a text from him saying “Nice orange top” and turned around to see him standing behind me. I may have made the first move sending a text message but he definitely made the first physical move by coming to see me that night… After chatting all night, he walked me to my car in the pouring rain and he kissed me good night.

How old were you both when you started dating?

I had just turned 21 and MC was 24.

How did you know MC was “the one”?

As cheesy as it sounds, our meeting was truly love at first sight. And I knew from the very first day that he would be the man I would marry. We shared an instant connection and he treated me like gold from the first time we started exchanging messages – he showed me the utmost respect and patience, loyalty and trust. And he displayed all the qualities I had always dreamed of in a man. There was also a very strong physical attraction that I couldn’t deny… He was and always has been my missing puzzle piece.

I’m sure you have said before that dated long distance?

MC and I met when he was living in the UK and playing country cricket – we spent our first four years of dating living between Durban, South Africa and London, UK. Our first two years, he was playing cricket in the UK and I was studying in SA, our second year, he worked in SA and I went to work in the UK and our final year, I came home to work in SA and he went to study in the UK. Long distance wasn’t easy but it was worth every missing moment, every tear cried and every heartbreaking goodbye. Because look at us now…

Haha, and too many funny questions on Instagram about the very cool sunglasses I had on in our picture… Who knows?!

How did you meet “The One”?

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