How wheels came off campervan love quest
Ex-air hostess back on travels after splitting with dashing laird
WHEN Nicci Taylor decided to swap her worldly possessions for a campervan and tour the country in a quest for true love, her story ignited international interest.
And just as romance seemed to have passed her by, the single mother looked to have found the man of her dreams after bagging a dashing laird with a Highland estate.
She and landowner James Pollard appeared to have fallen head over heels for each other, telling of their ‘fairytale’ on This Morning with Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby.
But just weeks after gushing about having found her Mr Right, the lady of the manor was back on the road with only her beloved dog Milo for company after the affair came to an abrupt end. At the time, she refused to say what went wrong other than it was ‘sensitive’.
Now, in a book about her search for love, due to be released this week, Miss Taylor lays bare what led to the sudden split with the man she knew as ‘Mr P’.
The couple had been together just a few months at Mr Pollard’s mansion in Caithness when they parted company in October, 2015.
Former air hostess Miss Taylor, now 51, said: ‘We broke up on good terms and we kept in touch. I last spoke to James six months ago. He’s moved on and so have I.
‘I started to suspect other people may be involved – that was part of the problem. He was a character, a good person, a typical man. There’s certain people in life who will even flirt with your granny and James was certainly flirtatious.
‘I started to believe that there were women he knew in the past he never let go of. I never found out if they were still in the present. There are episodes which are in the book which made me start to doubt our relationship.
‘He wanted me to stay – I did not want to leave but one of us had to make the decision and that was me. At first I really did think I belonged there. I could have coped with being a laird’s wife, though there’s not a lot going on in Caithness.
‘We were both looking for a happy-ever-after and we hoped it was with each other, but we couldn’t make it happen. We were together 121 days. We both had a good run at it. I have no regrets. He had a good time and I had a good time.
‘I don’t think he was unfaithful but let’s say his attention wasn’t always focused on me. I don’t think I was his only love interest and you can’t build a relationship on those foundations.’
Miss Taylor sold up her home on the Wirral and all her possessions and bought a campervan she nicknamed ‘The Beast’ in which to search for love. She went on three dates before meeting Mr Pollard, but was offered many more.
She said: ‘I got men saying things like, “I’ll meet you on the A66, love. I’ll ditch the wife in a layby and we’ll have some fun”.’
Of the dates she did go on, Miss Taylor added: ‘I’d park up at the man’s house and we’d go on a date. Then we’d say goodnight and I’d sleep in the campervan.’
When she met Mr Pollard, he had been single for ten years.
It took just four days for the then 55-year-old to ask her to stay.
Since they parted, Mr Pollard has sold his home and moved to Bedfordshire. Miss Taylor is currently living between her mother’s and sister’s homes and temping as a waitress and cleaner, while she prepares for another road trip.
She said: ‘I will soon be back on the road looking for Mr Right. I still have not found love but I have not lost hope.
‘I will go down the aisle in a zimmer frame if I have to.’
Milo, Me and The Beast by Nicci Taylor will be available to download from Amazon from Friday, April 6, priced £2.99.
‘Looking for a happy-ever-after’