I married my 18-30 rep — and other holiday romances that lasted a lifetime
WITH summer on the way, a tide of Brits will be heading off abroad in search of sun, sea . . . but not sex, apparently.
Seven in ten under-35s have never had a holiday fling, according to a new poll, while half are just not interested.
Are they missing out a chance to find The One?
We meet three couples whose holiday romances lasted a lot longer than their tans . . . and may yet go the distance.
‘In a spin over a DJ’
TONI Lake, 46, met her husband Paul, 48, on holiday in Tenerife in February 2005, when he was working as a DJ in a club. The pair had an instant spark and married a year later. Now they run a wine bar in South Woodham Ferrers, Essex. Paul has spent the past year nursing Toni through leukaemia and she says:
“MY best mate and I were supposed to get some winter sun in Dubai to help me get over a break-up.
“Luckily she changed her mind and we booked a week in Tenerife.
“We were stone-cold sober when we walked into the club where Paul was DJing. Club DJs are often a bit quiet but Paul was chatting and cracking jokes with the crowd over the microphone. He made a joke to me and I fired a comeback straight back.
“There was an instant spark and we made each other laugh.
“The rest of the week, we hung out together every night after Paul had played his set. We were mates but there was more to it.
“I knew there was something special about him, as naff as that sounds.
“After I got home, he called me every night and we would spend hours on the phone.
“What started as a friendship turned into love and I took my parents out to meet him in May, three months later.
“At first, my mum was horrified. She said: ‘You’ve fallen for a DJ on holiday? Are you mad?’ I’d originally thought the same, of course. I figured he would have a girl in every port but he was devoted to me.
“I moved to Tenerife to be with him but hated it. I was bored and lonely, as he worked six nights a week.
“So I told him I was moving back to Britain. Thank God he came too!
“He quit his job, opened a wine bar and we were married in September 2006, just over 18 months after meeting. When you know, you know.
“Last June, I was diagnosed with leukaemia. It’s been a tough road but my gorgeous Paul has been brilliant.
“He does everything for me – cooks, cleans – and he has picked me up time and again when I’ve been down.
“Last week I learned I was in remission and we celebrated. I wasn’t looking for love on that holiday but I’d always say: ‘Have an open mind.’
“I met the love of my life when I least expected to.”
Paul says: “Toni was a knockout. She was switched on, smart and funny – and she had this incredible long blonde hair. It wasn’t easy, of course. It cost us a fortune to keep up a long-distance relationship but it was worth it. I love her to bits.
“This past year has been tough for us but she has been beyond brave while battling her illness.
“I still feel like the luckiest man in the world that she walked into my club.”
‘Brian halted my fall’
JENNIFER Post-Green, 44, a chiropodist from Thornaby, North Yorks, met the man of her dreams in Crete in 2005. Jennifer, who is now step-mum to four children, knew she had found true love the moment she saw Brian Green, 56, a white goods engineer. She says:
“I WAS divorced and happily single when I joined my German mum and dad on holiday in Crete in September 2005.
“I was rollerblading along the beach promenade in shorts when a sexy stranger grabbed me.
“It was Brian but he wasn’t being creepy. He saw I was wobbling and reached his hands out to stop me falling over! I thanked him for his kindness and skated off.
“I was kicking myself for not asking his name and what hotel he was staying but two days later, fate intervened.
“I was sunbathing when Brian and his mate grabbed the last two loungers, right next to mine.
“I looked out from under my hat and my heart stopped.
“There was the man I had been thinking of for the past two days.
“We started chatting and spent the day sunbathing, swimming and talking. That night he said he’d meet me and my parents at a local restaurant for a drink. The next five days of our holiday we spent together. We went sightseeing, swimming, shopping and fell in love.
“I learned Brian had four children and was divorced. I told him about my previous marriage and divorce.
“When I got back to my home outside Cologne in Germany and Brian returned to Middlesbrough, we kept in contact via email and FaceTime.
“I knew he was my perfect man. I wasn’t put off by the 12-year age gap or the fact he had grandchildren.
“He visited me in November 2005 and I flew to Middlesbrough for a holiday in January 2006.
“We decided we’d elope to Jamaica in September 2007.
“We wanted a beach wedding because we’d met on the beach.
“Since marrying we spend any spare time on holiday and always celebrate the day we met in Crete.
“I always thought holiday romances would never work because of the distances involved.
“Brian and I are proof you can meet on holiday in a foreign country and live in different countries but still make love work.”
Brian says: “I think fate wanted me to meet Jennifer. If I hadn’t met her rollerblading, I was destined to meet her two days later.
“I felt something special the first time I saw her and I still feel that way today. That holiday changed my life and I have never been happier.”
‘I wed my 18-30 rep’
IT consultant Lisa Woodward, 44, met her husband Steve Williams, 41, in a crowded Ibiza bar in June 1999. Steve was a holiday rep for Club 18-30 and organised a bar crawl that Lisa joined with her best mate. It was love at first sight and Lisa and recruitment director Steve, from Farnborough, Hants, are now parents to Adam, 15, and Jasmine, 12. Lisa says:
“THE moment I saw Steve in his blue polo shirt and cargo pants, I told my then-flatmate that he was the guy I’d marry.
“My mate and I were on a two-week break in San Antonio in Ibiza. I was 24 and single, so we signed up for every 18-30 event going. On day six, I went on a pub crawl Steve had fixed up.
“In one bar there were more than 100 people but one look at Steve and I knew he was special.
“When he said hello, we locked eyes and both felt a jolt. We got chatting and realised we’d grown up just 30 miles apart on the Oxfordshire/Bucks border.
“We swapped numbers and he asked me out the next night after he finished his shift at 2am.
“For the next week, I’d spend the day in the sun and go to quiet, out-of-the-way bars with Steve in the early hours.
“We quickly fell in love and there was a tearful goodbye at the airport when I had to go. But Steve rang me every night. I surprised him by flying back out three weeks later for another week and we knew then that we’d be together for the rest of our lives.
“In August that year, Steve gave up his job as a rep and we officially moved in together in December 1999. Then, in February 2000, I opened my door and Steve was there on his knees with a diamond ring asking me to marry him.
“In May 2001, we married. The colour scheme was orange and gold, like the beautiful sunrises we watched together in Ibiza.
“In May 2003 our son Adam came along and three years later, in October 2006, Jasmine was born.
“Steve and I still celebrate the month we met in Ibiza.
“I had always thought holiday romances never lasted. But mine did and this year we mark our 18th wedding anniversary.”
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Steve says: “When I started talking to Lisa in that bar, I knew she was special. We connected immediately. and from that night on I knew she’d be my future wife.
“As a former holiday rep, I helped wipe away the tears of holidaymakers unable to bear being separated from their vacation loves. I never thought I’d meet someone I’d marry as an Ibiza rep – but it happened.
“Lisa and I are proof that if you meet The One on holiday, you can be together for ever.”
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