‘Marrying my first love was magical; it felt like we’d never been apart’

Teacher Georgina Bickerstaffe, 48, from Shropshire, and James, 49, dated in their 20s. After meeting again two decades later, they now have their happy ending.

Iwas 21 when I met James. He was a long-haired indie kid, I was a pop princess, and we were both doing an A-level History evening course. Despite us sitting opposite each other for a year, we didn’t speak until the very last lesson, when he finally introduced himself. Not long afterwards, having found out that I was working at River Island, he walked into the shop to ask if I fancied going for a drink. Considering he’s not that confident, it must have taken courage. He then called for me after work every day for two or three weeks. One day, he turned up with a mix tape he’d made for me. Before I could finish my ‘Thank you’, he kissed me. And that was it; we were together.

We saw each other a few times a week, and he took me to Paris after three weeks of dating, which was so romantic. Our relationship lasted exactly a year – we broke up on our anniversary trip to Newcastle, where James had gone to university. We argued over something silly, then the next day

I drove him home and ended it.

We stayed in touch for 10 years after the break-up, sometimes going to the theatre or to dinner together, and would occasionally email or call each other, too. Then, in 2004, I met my first husband and told James I thought it best to cut contact.

During that marriage, I had my two girls, Emily, now 15, and Honey, 13, but my then husband and I separated in 2015.

A couple of years later, James came into my mind and, one day in November 2018, I sent him a ‘wave’ on Facebook. There was no response, but I gave it one more go a month later. This time, he ‘waved’ back and, on his birthday in January, he followed up with a simple: ‘Hi, how are you?’ We began messaging sporadically until, by mid-may, it was almost daily. Finally, out of the blue, he said, ‘I still like you. Do you want to meet?’ It was an instant ‘yes’ from me.

We swapped numbers and talked for hours like teenagers nearly every night until we met up 10 days later. I went over to his house and our connection was as strong as before. It was truly as if those 20 years had faded to nothing.

The relationship felt very natural, but my children are my priority and I told him that if they didn’t like him, we couldn’t see each other any more. But I needn’t have worried; they adore him.

He had never married or had children of his own, and by Christmas 2019, he’d moved in. We both knew we would get married and on 2 February last year, he proposed. I think it took him by surprise as much as me – he didn’t have a ring; it had just felt like the right time to ask.

We booked a beautiful church near our house in Shropshire for May 2021, but later reconsidered hosting such a big event because of the pandemic. Instead, we found a register office in Chelsea, London, and married in October 2020 with just my parents as witnesses, and James’s dad and my girls watching online. It was amazing; to finally be marrying him was so special. James even cried towards the end of the ceremony. It may have taken us a while to find each other again, but he’s made my world a better place.

We’re so happy and are looking forward to our second Christmas as husband and wife. Last year we had a quiet time, like everyone else, and hopefully we’ll finally be able to celebrate with friends we haven’t seen since before our wedding.

JAMES SAYS:

Georgina was my first love, but we were so young when we first dated. She’s a very memorable person, and I often thought of her. I’m so happy we’re now building our future together. We’re looking forward to a few days of special time together at Christmas.

It took us a while to find each other again, but we’re so happy