Couple tie the knot...eventually
A LOUGHBOROUGH couple who were kept apart for decades after being forbidden from seeing each other by the bride’s strict father have finally tied the knot - 40 years on.
Bill Brookman 62, was left gutted when Madeleine Coburn, 56, rejected his offer for a date at the pub in 1978, when he was 23 and she was 16.
But he had no idea she had only turned down his advances because her strict father had banned her from going because he thought Bill was “too arty”.
The pair went their separate ways until their paths crossed again in 2008 and Bill finally got to take Madeline to the same pub he asked her too 30 years previously.
They soon fell in love and in September last year the musician stunned Madeleine by getting down on one knee in a proposal which was broadcast live on BBC Radio 4.
The delighted couple wed at All Saints Church on August 19 in front of 300 guests and Bill says his “perfect bride” was well worth the wait.
Bill who has previously appeared on ITV’s Britain’s Got Talent said: “It really is an amazing thing, for us to have got married after so long.
“We had known each other a bit from school. I had gone off to study at arts college, but came back to the sixth form to put on a comedy showcase, at which time Madeleine was a student.
“She ended up playing a lead role, and was one of the dancers in the final performance.
“I had taken a fancy to her very early on, and after the final performance, I phoned her up to talk things over and asked her out for a drink at the pub.
“She said yes, and I was absolutely over the moon.
“And then, out of the blue, I had a phone call from Madeleine, saying that she couldn’t go anymore.
Madeleine, a heritage worker, said: “When Bill asked me out on the date back in 1978, I started running up and down the garden, jumping and dancing.
“My mother was watering the plants, and I remember shouting at her ‘Bill Brookman has invited me on a date’.
“She said: ‘Well, we’ll have to check with your father’.
“A few days later, as she was washing up, my mother told me that dad had said no, and that I couldn’t go on the date.
“I had the most embarrassing conversation with Bill afterwards, when I had to phone him up to tell him.
“I was far too shy and embarrassed to tell him the truth, so I just said that I couldn’t come anymore.
“In May 2012, he got in contact with me again to invite me for tea, saying that we should talk about potential projects together, which was lovely.
“Later that month, he phoned me up out of the blue again, and said: ‘It’s Friday, let’s bunk off early and go down to my forest cabin’.
“We had the most romantic meal together, and then went on a walk together as the sun set.
“I’m so glad our paths crossed again, it really is a happily ever after fairy tale for us.”