So, how did you meet? The story of Mr & Mrs Romance

In this series, we’re interviewing couples and asking them one of the most revealing questions about their relationship: How did you meet? I don’t know anyone who doesn’t find the answer interesting. It’s always a different story, and it always involves an element of controversy!

Mr and Mrs Romance - the story of us 3

As this is the first in our series of How Did You Meet?, we thought it would be only right to go first and tell you our story. It’s a pretty good one.

Let’s just say if you’re not a big believer in destiny, then this might not sit well with you.

We met in Sydney during the 2000 Olympics. I was busy backpacking round Australia on a gap year and Mrs Romance was at the start of her university career.

How on earth we had time to meet still bewilders me. But here’s the whole story:

Mr Romance:

So how did you… we meet?

Mrs Romance:

I’m pretty sure I remember Leonie [Mrs R’s best mate from school] talking about you when I asked her how work had gone one Saturday – the first day you came into the shop.

Mr R:

I’d met Leonie when I’d popped my head in where she was working because I couldn’t believe a place like this could exist.

Mrs R:

She worked in a place called Thirst for Life. It was a shop that sold 42 kinds of water and had a fountain in it. I think one of my favourites was the French slimming water with low sodium, or maybe those fruit-infused waters that we used to think were hangover cures – very funny.

Mr R:

I lived about 5 doors down – in Paddington – and had to see what was going on there. I couldn’t believe it – I thought it was my housemate pulling my leg when they told me about it. But there you go.

Mr and Mrs Romance - the story of us 2

Mrs R:

But the day we actually met, I was hanging with Leonie making sure she wasn’t falling asleep at work, and I remember you just popped in on your way home. I remember thinking you were cute and you made me laugh, and it was just… funny.

You invited us to a party – a house party at your place. We did intend to go but for some reason we weren’t really nearby and we missed your party.

But I thought I’m going to invite you to my Olympics party.

So when the opening ceremony was on I remember making sure to get Leonie to invite you.

I just remember you had a cheeky smile, you made me laugh, and you were like… sort of the best moment in the water shop all day!

I’d been hanging out there all day, just waiting for you to just walk in I guess.

I remember being so excited when you came to my Olympics party – and those two weeks afterwards were just… there was just such a buzz. It was like New Years Eve in the city every night of the week.

It was just so much fun.

And then there was that time we got hit by lightning, which was like a week after we’d met – after we’d started going out. That was incredible.

And I remember my friend from work teasing me about us being serious, and I was like ‘oh, I don’t know’ we were too young to think it was going to be serious. And maybe that’s how we made it all happen.

Well, it looks like your friend from work was right, Mrs Romance. And since September 15th 2000 – it’s easy to find out when we first started going out thanks to the Olympics. That’s a long time.

I should add that my travel plans were supposed to take me on to New Zealand, Fiji and then the States after leaving Sydney. I was planning on spending Christmas and New Year in the South Island of NZ.

However, I pushed my visa and flights to their very limits so I could stay in Sydney with Mrs Romance as long as I possibly could. I ended up spending 2 nights in NZ, 5 nights in Fiji and about 2 hours in LA before landing back in the UK.

I then spent the next 30 days complaining and redistributing my debts so I could come back to Sydney straight away. It cost me a fortune, but it was more than worth it. How could I let someone like her go when we’d only just met?

Mr and Mrs Romance - the story of us 4

I always find it astonishing that two people who will have walked past, met, talked to and looked at literally millions of individuals – for them to find each other in that ocean of possibilities… it makes no sense. It makes the most beautiful pile of no sense at all!

We hope you enjoyed reading about how we met. We’ll be posting new stories in this series regularly. If you want to make sure you don’t miss the next installment, sign up to our newsletter, which comes out every Friday.

Photos of us by the lovely Steph of Lipstick & Cake

28 thoughts on “So, how did you meet? The story of Mr & Mrs Romance”

  1. I love the story of how your met! I’ve been wondering since you began the blog but haven’t run into you to ask. I do want to know about this “hit by lightning”-story though… sounds dramatic!

    I believe in fate (even though the logical side of my brain refutes its existence). My Mum was walking past a building yard and my Dad wolf-whistled at her (*giggles*) and then they, some how, ran into each other again a few years later up the river. If someone is meant to be in your life, they’ll find a way.

    Hope you’re enjoying the beautiful life you’ve created together in Sydney. 🙂

    Reply

    • That’s amazing, Nicole! It’s just so unlikely that people who fall in love ever meet. The potential for things to stop them meeting – a red traffic light here, a missed flight there, walking a bit too fast, a different choice of restaurant… there are too many variables for it not to be down to something like fate.

      Oh, the lightning story’s a doozy, Nicole! Will have to tell you about it – it’s pretty cool. 🙂

      Jxx

      Reply

    • Ha ha! It is a ridiculous shop, isn’t it, Liz? Sadly no longer in Paddington, which makes how we met even more amazing. It closed down in 2001 I think – yet another example about how meeting someone is all about timing.
      Weirdly though, we were at the Sydney Good Food and Wine Week in Olympic Park last year and spotted a stall called Thirst for Life selling water. We never met the owner, who was in the stall, but I took a picture of him and showed our friend Leonie. She’s pretty sure it’s the same guy!
      Jxx

      Reply

  5. Awwwww you guys! My hubby has this saying ‘ you meet good people in bad places’ he always uses (partly to excuse the fact we met at about 4am in The Courthouse- Ewwww!)

    Reply

    • Ha ha!! Ah, the good old Courthouse! I think your hubby’s got that right, Julie. That place is a shocker – not that I haven’t spent the end of many a great night in there. Actually became such good friends with my old boss in there (a drunken d & m), we hang out all the time now. So as far as the Courthouse goes, no judgement from me – had to get that pun in, sorry!
      Jxx

      Reply

  6. Aww…you two are sooo SWEET!! Beautiful story! It’s true though how incredible it is for two people who have no mutual friends to begin with CAN end up together through some cosmic thing. I call it FATE! 🙂

    Reply

    • Thank you, Vanessa! 2000 was undoubtedly a good vintage! So much happened that year come to think of it. Amazing, isn’t it? Maybe something to do with the Y2K Bug or something? 😀
      Jxx

      Reply

  12. Fabulous Story!! love it. I met my husband at a bus stop… sounds boring but it’s a great story with shared cabs, tracking down emails with nothing but a first name, occupation and place of work. Jx

    Reply

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