‘I wrote down what my ideal man was’
the messages flew back and forth. ‘ You look like Don Draper,’ I told him.
‘I get that from people a lot,’ he replied. We got chatting and Sol was laid back, so easy to talk to and quieter than me. ‘I like that you’re bubbly,’ he said. ‘It means I don’t have to do all the talking!’ That made me laugh. A few weeks later, we met for dinner. Sol looked even better in real life!
‘I have to say, you are an extremely handsome man, you must have no problem meeting women,’ I told him.
‘I have a problem meeting the right woman,’ he smiled.
We spent the whole night chatting, discovering that we both had daughters the same age. They even had similar names – Lexie and Roxie – and we both lived at door number nine. Ending the night with a cheeky kiss, I was smitten. And, thankfully, he was too. Within six weeks we’d said, ‘I love you.’ I also introduced Lexie to Sol’s brood – Roxie, seven at the time, Orson, five, and Coen, three. I also wasn’t embarrassed to show Sol my man spell.
‘That’s so funny,’ he laughed. After dating for a year, we moved in together and a few months on – in December 2017 – Sol took me to the restaurant where we’d had our first date. Pulling out a beautiful art deco ring, Sol proposed, saying that the two diamonds represented us going through life together. Of course, I said yes! In February 2018, we eloped to Las Vegas to get married. We were on a business trip and didn’t want to wait any longer to become husband and wife!
Now, at 47, we’ve been saving and are planning to have a second wedding in front of friends and family, when Covid allows it.
‘I knew you were the woman for me as soon as I saw you on Tinder,’ Sol admits.
Whenever I meet a woman looking for love, I urge them to try the man spell. I’m living proof that it really does work.
Sol is my dream man and is Jon Hamm’s doppelgänger. It’s been a long road, but I’ve finally got the magical, fairytale ending I’ve always wanted.