Was This A Love Letter From Beyond The Grave?

A story today from a widow who wishes to remain anonymous. She feels that the letter concerned was from beyond the grave, for want of a better expression. Perhaps you may have a different opinion.

"A few weeks after my husband died, my daughter called to visit me.

We sat together, looking through some photos. I found myself saying: "The one thing I regret is that your father never sent me a love letter. Other widows have letters, sometimes tied up with ribbon, but I have nothing like that."

Just at that precise second, both my daughter and I gave an involuntary. "Oh!" because right before our eyes was an envelope sitting on top of the photographs.

We did not  see it actually materialise, but were certain it had not been there before.

I picked it up. It was dated 43 years previously and was addressed to me in my maiden name. I took the letter out of the envelope. It was indeed a love letter, professing love, 'body and soul' for ever.

I cannot remember ever receiving this letter."

Other Posts:
10 Coincidence And Synchronicity Stories
The Meaning Of White Feathers As Messages From The Dead
What We Give Out, We Get Back - But Not Always Exactly As We Want

Fate Or Coincidence Brought Two Lonely People Together

Two Human Beings, The Lonely Ones, Edvard Munch 1895

Here's a little story to make you go ahhhh! Reg and Christine Upton of Anslow in Staffordshire, England say that a 'moment of coincidence' led them to celebrating their diamond wedding.

Over 60 years ago they both had dates in a local park but both were stood up. So, with the help of fate or coincidence, the two wallflowers got together instead - in a perfectly respectable way, of course. And now they have celebrated their 60th anniversary with 140 guests.

Reg and Christine have five sons, one daughter, 15 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.

Reg told the Burton Mail, "I am proud to say that we are still as much in love as we were when we first met and we would do it all over again if we could. I still remember when we first met. I was 19 and Chris was 17, and I remember having to pay for everything at the wedding.

After paying for the food and all the bits and bobs, we literally had a few pence to last us a week – but it was worth it. And on our wedding night, I had to go out and milk the cows, so we spent the next morning in bed with a cup of tea and a cream cake.

We still love each other as much as we did then and still hold hands while we are on holiday and we love each others company."

I guess some things are just meant to be.

Nearly forgot: ahhhh!

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A Strange Broken Heart Coincidence

A Strange Broken Heart Coincidence

This story is, with thanks, from Audrey T. A broken relationship leads to a strange coincidence.

My long term partner and I parted, it seems he wanted other things from life - including other women.

I was very down but an old friend Julie, who I rarely see as she has moved to Paris, said she would be visiting me the coming weekend. This gave me a lift and I looked forward to seeing her.

I met up with her at London Heathrow airport and she said she was bursting to tell me something.

She told me what had happened. On the plane from Paris she was seated next to another woman and they struck up a conversation. It turned out that she was from Uxbridge, which is where I also live, and Julie asked her almost jokingly if she therefore knew me.

The woman stuttered in an embarrassed way and then stopped talking.

Arriving in Heathrow the woman suddenly turned to Julie and said something not very nice about me, which I won't repeat here. Julie ended the conversation but noticed that the woman was called Anne Burbridge* from her luggage label.

And Anne Burbridge is the name of one of the women who had been having an affair with my ex-partner.

The coincidence quite shocked us. What are the odds that Julie, who I see only perhaps once or twice a year, would be seated next to the woman who was - to put it politely - romantically involved with my ex.

I think that coincidences happen for a reason but I'm not sure of the reason for this particular chance meeting.

* the name has been changed,

Other Random Posts:
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Coincidence Photograph Of Fiancé Told Her They Were Over

Here's a coincidence or synchronicity story sent to me via Google+. It's another photo coincidence.

"I fell into conversation with the new manager of a store I often frequent. I thought it odd, but he asked me if I'd like to see some of his photography work. I had mentioned to him that I always take a camera with me when I go out.

I started flipping through the photos of architecture, towns and people. Then one particular shot caught my attention - and held it. One of the faces was familiar.

The photographer didn't know who the person was but I certainly did. It was my ex-fiancé, and the photo was taken some five years before I had even met him. But it was definitely him!

This got me wondering, did this coincidence mean that my life was still inextricably linked to my ex in some way?

I thought no more about it, but the next week who should I literally bump into in a neighbouring town, but my ex-fiancé. We exchanged pleasantries but I felt there was nothing between us. He went on his way.

Maybe this happened to prove to me that he didn't mean anything to me any more, so I could fully close that chapter of my life."

~ Sally

Other Coincidence Photo Stories:
Married Couple Were Unknowingly Photographed Together As Children
Photo Taken Of Father Showed His Missing Daughter
Married Couple In The Same Photo As Children

She Phoned The Same Place At The Same Time As He Did

It's funny how many people have a coincidence story of some sort to tell. We were out walking and met a man we often see and got into conversation. I'm not sure how we got to the subject but Karin mentioned to him that I write about coincidences. "Ah," he said, "I've got a coincidence story." This is what he went on to tell us.

About twenty years ago he had a girlfriend and for some reason she wanted to go off to Italy for several months. This was, of course, at a time when communication wasn't like it is today. There were no emails, texts etc.

She said she would keep in touch, by what we now call snail mail, plus she had his home telephone number - a land-line.

He received a few postcards from her, but as she was moving about he couldn't contact her. Out of the blue he then had the opportunity of better employment, but this meant he had to move away from his rented flat and therefore change his phone number.

It seemed to be the end of the relationship. Then he remembered that he'd also given her his previous employers phone number as well, in case of emergencies. Perhaps she would try to contact him there.

He rang his previous employer and explained to the woman on reception what had happened. The receptionist told him to hang on the line as there was another incoming call.

The incoming call just happened to be from his girlfriend trying to contact him!

So were they meant to be together, and was this the start of a lifetime romance? No, despite them making contact again and her finally returning from Italy the relationship floundered.

An interesting enough coincidence but was is synchronicity? Well it was meaningful at the time it happened so it must have been. It does seem as if there are many degrees of synchronicity.

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Classic Coincidence: She Fell From Heaven And Landed At His Feet

Here's a short romantic coincidence I came across recently. I suppose it would be considered a classic now, but can you imagine a better meeting?

"When I was a struggling musical student," the famed heroic tenor Lauritz Melchior once recalled, "living in a small pension in Munich, I was sitting in the garden one day, learning the words of a new opera.

As I sang the words, 'Come to me, my love, on the wings of light,' there was a flutter, a flash of white, and there sitting at my feet, was a beautiful little creature who had dropped right out of the blue.

"It was Maria Hacker, a diminutive Bavarian actress. Stunting for a movie thriller, she had jumped from an aeroplane and landed, parachute and all, practically in my arms. And that was She. I thought that she came to me from heaven. I still think so..."

They were married between 1925 and Maria's death in 1963.

I have to admit I didn't know of Lauritz Melchior (20 March 1890 - 19 March 1973) but found out he was an opera singer and was considered the pre-eminent Wagnerian tenor of the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s.

Looking to expand this post a little I wondered if Melchior had any links to where I live in Cornwall. Pretty remote, I thought, as he was a Danish-American singer. But, good old Wikipedia, came up trumps. It seems he had met Hugh Walpole, the author, and the two quickly became firm friends, travelling together and staying in each other's houses.

On a visit to Walpole's cottage in Polperro [Cornwall] Melchior "caused a sensation by singing at a concert in the village", and later on a visit to Helston [Cornwall] he and Walpole both took part in the traditional Floral Dance.

There's always a link somewhere ... Because ...


More Coincidence Examples:
The Castaway And The Message In A Bottle Coincidence
The Coincidence Of Emily Giving Her Idol A Lift To His Own Show
Married Couple In The Same Photo As Children

Follow The Signs To Marriage And Happiness Coincidence

A reader's coincidence story today from Sue - just follow those signs and instincts!

"This is my coincidence story, and it has a happy ending.

"Going back eleven years I had an old car that wasn't very reliable. I was in a car park after doing some shopping in town and when I got back to the car it wouldn't start. I didn't know what to do so phoned my dad who said he would be over in about half an hour.

"I sat in my car while I waited and couldn't help but notice that the car opposite had the number plate SUE 293. My name is Sue and my birthday is on the 29th of March.

"After ten minutes or so a very cute guy about my age got to the car and opened the boot while he put in some bags. I felt I should say something to him about the connection with his number plate but felt too shy to do so. He got in his car and drove away. Dad arrived and got my car started.

"About two weeks later I was at a friend's party and met this guy. I felt I knew him but couldn't place his face at first. He asked me on a date and then I remembered where I had seen him before. He was the guy with the SUE 293 number plate.

When he picked me up at home he was driving a different car. I asked him about the number plate and he told me it belonged to his mother and he must have been driving her car on the day I first saw him. Her name is also Sue.

"The date went well, very well and we have now been married for nine years and have two lovely children.

"I sometimes think about how I could easily have never seen my now husband again after the car park. The moral of the story is most likely that I should have followed my instinct in the car park that day. Fortunately I was given a second chance.

"His mother sold the car with the number plate a few weeks after we went on our first date."

~ Sue

Other Coincidence & Synchronicity Stories:
You'll Remember Me Coincidence In Fields Of Gold
Top 10 Coincidence And Synchronicity Stories
Famous Coincidences: Abraham Lincoln
67 Not Out Readers Coincidence Stories - 10

Synchronicity Of Being Alone Again Naturally

Gilbert O'Sullivan with words from Alone Again Naturally

An emotional story today from Margaret which follows on from a recent 67 Not Out post. My thanks to Margaret for sharing.

"Your post about symbols and synchronicity hit the mark with me and brought back memories from a long time ago. [see Synchronicity Appears When A Symbol Proves Its Significance]

At the time in the early 1970s I had my first real boyfriend, Ian, who I believed was the love of my life. During our time of going out together he bought me an LP by Gilbert O'Sullivan. This was back when records were plastic discs.

Gilbert was my favourite pop star at the time and I played the LP over and over again. It was also special because Ian had bought it for me and had written a sweet message on the sleeve.

To keep it short our romance broke up. He found another girl, much more attractive and out going than me. I was shattered on the night he told me that we were over. I remember I cried a lot in my bedroom and then went to play the Gilbert O'Sullivan record Ian had given me. As I took it out of the sleeve, I don't know how, but it dropped to the floor and broke.

Though I didn't realise at the time it was the symbol that said our romance was over, completely broken.

Since all those years ago I married and had children. My husband died in January last year.

The evening after I read your post, and some other regular web sites I look at, I turned on the radio to Gold, where they play hits from the past. The record they were playing was one of Gilbert O'Sullivan's hits, 'Alone Again Naturally.'

In my reflective moments while on my own I sometimes wonder what happened to Ian."

Her Boyfriend's Ghost Interferes With Her Love Life

Sharon Grant, now 44 from Blackburn England, met and fell in love with Sean Eddleston when they were in their mid 20s.

Sharon told the Sun newspaper that Sean always said to her, "Sharon, we’ll be together for life, no one will ever come between us'." She took comfort from this and promised him she would never date anyone else if he ever died.

Of course, no one in good health thinks they will ever be parted but sadly Sean died of bronchial pneumonia when he was only 37. Sharon's world came tumbling down.

After a while Sharon felt that Sean's ghost or spirit was still with her. She explains:

"Strange things were happening. When Sean was alive, he moved the pictures in our home and made them crooked - it was a joke because he knew that it drove me mad.

A few months after he died I suddenly noticed that all the pictures would sometimes be wonky.

I knew it was Sean telling me he was still there and, rather than being freaked out, I drew comfort from the fact he was still around. Straightening the photos, I would shout, 'Sean, will you cut it out!'

Occasionally I heard footsteps on the stairs. I knew that it was Sean and I just left him to it. There was no need to be scared."

She enjoyed having him around until, that is, when she started dating again. Sharon tells of her first new relationship:

"I made a meal and we opened a bottle of wine. It was quite romantic.

It was a sad moment, as bringing a man home felt as though I was severing some link with Sean and moving on.

But after eating we settled on the sofa and, as I went to kiss him, there was a crash in the kitchen and I heard footsteps run upstairs.

I went into the kitchen and the plates we had eaten off were on the floor smashed.

I could still hear footsteps upstairs and went up. I knew it was Sean. I went into my bedroom and snapped, 'Don’t spoil this for me, Sean!'

The next time my boyfriend came round I was in the kitchen when he ran in and said, 'Something has ruffled my hair and pulled it!'

After that he refused to come round at night.

Another day he was visiting and I heard him knock on the door. I tried to get up from my bed but couldn’t move.

It felt like something was pinning me down and I had to say, 'Get off me, Sean! Now!'

After a struggle I was finally able to get up and answer the door.

We dated for nearly a year, but for the last six months he refused to come to my house at all."

The relationship ended after Sharon tried to explain about Sean's ghost - but there's probably only so much interference a suitor can take.

Next came a brief relationship with warehouse worker Dave Becket.

Sharon said: "We’d been on a couple of dates when he came to my house.

I was in the kitchen and the telly in the front room was off. But Dave suddenly went ashen and said he’d seen a reflection of himself in the blank TV screen - with someone sitting next to him.

I tried to remain blasé and said it was Sean and he was harmless. But Dave downed his drink and told me he had to go.

Yet again my dead boyfriend had prevented me from seeing someone else."

But Sharon tried again with gentleman number 3:

"I dated a man late last year and we went to my place for a nightcap.

We’d been there a couple of hours having a chat in the front room when I went into the kitchen to get us another drink.

Suddenly I heard him run out of the front door and down the road. I shouted after him but he looked terrified and kept running.

I don’t know what Sean did to this poor bloke, but he scared the living daylights out of him.

I’ve still got his jacket - he hasn’t been back for it and because I’d only just met him I didn’t have a phone number for him.

So Sharon is still on her own, but with the ghost of Sean, of course:

"Some nights I’ll sit down on my own in the front room and chat to him. I know he’s there, I can feel his presence. I was never interested in ghosts and ghouls before Sean died and had no opinion on whether they existed. Now I know they do.

I tell Sean I need that physical relationship with another man but it doesn’t mean I don’t still love him. I can be there for hours just chatting. I only hope Sean is listening.

But he needs to let me get on with my life."

The lesson is probably that we should be careful about what we promise - as it's not just for this life!

Other Ghostly Posts:
The Ghost Who Chased A Thief
Kate Says She Has Sex Regularly With A Ghost
Daisy The Gentle Ghost Who Loves Dogs

Coincidence Of Meeting With First Love

Today a coincidence story from Olive, which has similarities in some respects to a post on the synchrosecrets blog titled The Guy from the Past. Thank you Olive.

Shortly after my husband died I went on a coach trip to Brighton with a club of which I'm a member. When we arrived I wandered off on my own. The weather was damp and overcast and all in all a little depressing.

As there was rain in the air I went into a small cafe for a tea and bun. There were only two other people inside so I sat by the window looking out at the people walking by with their umbrellas.

This happened just after Andy Williams had died and the cafe had the radio playing. They started playing Andy's Moon River and just as the words, "... waitin' round the bend, my Huckleberry friend ...," were being sung a grey haired man in a smart suit walked into the cafe and ordered a coffee.

I felt uncomfortable about him coming in and more so when he sat on the next table to me. It seemed he wanted to chat to someone and picked on me. He mentioned the rain and then he looked at me and said, "Good grief, you're not Olive are you?"

I admitted I was. "It's me, Andy T****, from college. Remember? God, how many years was that ago? I recognised your eyes."

I had known Andy when I was 17 and 18 (I'm now 64). I didn't recognise him at first but when he started remembering things we had done together, places we had been, I knew it was him. You don't easily forget the first time you make love.

We talked about how our lives had panned out, me with marriage and three children, him with one daughter and two marriages. His wife had died of cancer recently so we had sadness to share.

He then said he had to go as he had some sort of appointment to attend. "I'll give you my phone number," he said, "Where's your mobile?"

I gave him my phone and he fed in his number. "Please ring me," he said as he went out of the door, "Don't forget. We must keep in touch."

The weather wasn't too bad for the rest of the day and I met up with some of the other club members and tried to forget Andy.

The next day, sitting in my own house in the London suburbs and feeling lonely, I was tempted to phone Andy. Instead there was an incoming call, it was one of my sons. He wanted to know if I would go with him, and my two other sons and their families to the church on Saturday, as it would have been their father's birthday.

I was quite cross with myself. I couldn't believe I hadn't remembered my husband's birthday, we would always do something special with of the family.

I looked at my mobile phone, and then deleted Andy's number.

Olive allowed me to edit her story slightly but the facts are unaltered.

Facebook Romantic Coincidence

The likes of Facebook and other social networking websites have changed the way we meet others, even for romance. Take Kelly Hildebrandt for example.

Kelly (female) said, "I was like, I wonder if there's any other Kelly Hildebrandt on Facebook, so, I searched my own name."

Kelly did find another Kelly Hildebrandt and it was a 'he'. She explained, "He was the only one that came up. And actually, in the picture, he didn't have his shirt on, and I'm like, 'Oh, he's cute!'"

The 'he' Kelly was from Texas and the 'she' from Florida and now the two will, sort of, become one. Eight months after their meeting Kelly proposed to Kelly.

Their opinion of the whole coincidence relationship is that, "It was love at Facebook sight." Okay, a bit cringe-worthy, but their romance started with the coincidence of their names being the same on Facebook.

Kelly, the initial seeker, sent the first message, "Hey, I see we have the same name, and I thought it was kinda cool, so I wanted to say hi."

And from this their status eventually changed.

Other Romance Coincidences and Synchronicity:
Synchronicity Of A Beatles Song Sealed Their Romance
Dreaming Of A Phone Number Led To Romance
The Textual Frustration Coincidence

Synchronicity Of A Beatles Song Sealed Their Romance

I read lots of coincidence and synchronicity stories but I think today's from Susan Stewart is a bit special.

Susan sent me her experience by email and the first time I read the words it sent a tingle down my spine. For some reason I really connected with the story, see what you think.

"Seventeen years ago I had a painful break-up. I hung onto the relationship, emotionally, long after it was over. I was going through the motions of moving on and dating but couldn't shake this person, even though much of the relationship had been unhappy.

During this time I reconnected with an old flame, Michael, because of the book The Artist's Wayby Julia Cameron, which discusses synchronicity. We started seeing each other occasionally.

He lived in Texas, I in New York City. I had a thousand reasons why he wasn't the one for me: he was older, had kids and so on. But I was always happy when I was with him and cared about him. He said he had never stopped being in love with me. (Though it had been some three years since we first dated).

He proposed soon after we got together again. I was very uncertain: I didn't want to stop seeing him, but wasn't sure about marrying him and didn't want to lead him on. I really didn't know what I should do. I finally asked for guidance from the Universe.

I'm a flight attendant and soon after petitioning the Universe I was dead-heading (traveling as a passenger) early in the morning on a flight from Caracas to Miami and listening to the inflight music. I heard a beautiful version of The Beatles' song I Will by Ben Taylor. It was so happy and sweet. I had taken the book The Artist's Way on the trip with me and was flipping through it. I wrote the lyrics to the song on the back jacket and wrote: 'Makes me think of Michael' and a big smiley-face.

When I got to Miami I called Michael at work. He said he was having a tough day because he'd woken up early in the morning and hadn't been able to go back to sleep. I asked what he'd done between waking up and getting ready to go to work. He said he had learned a new song on his guitar.

I said, "Hey, speaking of songs. I just heard an old Beatles' song that made me think of you called 'I Will'."

I asked him if he knew the one I was talking about.

He was quiet for a second, then said, "Call your answering machine in New York."

I thought, "You're kidding me."

"Call your apartment," he said.

I shakily called the number and heard this message:

"Hey Doll. I woke up early and couldn't sleep, so I learned this song. It makes me think of you." And he played the song, I Will.

Some of the synchros about this story:

~ I heard the song soon after take off - and he left the message on the machine at that same time.

~ I knew he liked the Beatles, or maybe assumed he did (because well, who doesn't?) but we'd never listened to any of their music together or talked about them. And of all the bands and all the songs there are - we were both thinking of the same one at the same time.

~ I wrote the lyrics in the back of the book that brought us back together (which mentions synchronicity).

~ We both said: "This makes me think of you."

~ I'd asked for guidance about marrying him. I felt I Will is basically like saying I Do.

The lyrics are such a promise of happiness too: 'Love you forever and forever, love you with all my heart, love you whenever we're together, love you when we're apart...'  The song also has a bit of a mystical edge - about looking for someone you may or may not know already - that you know will be who you've been searching for.

I did end up marrying him and, 17 years later, I'm still amazed by how much fun we have together, how perectly matched we are, how much we laugh - we still feel so lucky that we got to be together."

~ Susan

Thank you Susan!



Other Romance Synchronicity and Coincidence Stories:
Dreaming Of A Phone Number Led To Romance
A Romantic Coincidence
The Concentration Camp Romantic Coincidence

Wrong Number Coincidence Led To Marriage

A romantic coincidence style story today about Alison Cork who is the founder of the website Homes & Bargains.
Alison was feeling a bit down one Sunday. She was 34 at the time and was without a man in her life so decided to phone her friend Anne to cheer her up.

Alison writes, "I ... was surprised to hear a man's voice answer. Anne didn't have a boyfriend or live with anyone, so I must have dialled the wrong number. 'Well whoever you are,' I said flippantly, 'you're not my girlfriend.'

'Would I do instead.' the voice enquired. 'No,' I laughed. 'I wanted a girly chat and blokes aren't very good at that.' ... for some reason I jotted down the number I had accidentally dialled before hanging up."

After the call had ended Alison felt 'a strong desire to call him back' - and this is what she did!

She chatted to the man, she found out was called Efi, for about half an hour. He asked if she would call him again - and, again, this is what she did.

Alison and Efi started speaking to each other at least once a day on the phone. After three weeks he asked her the obvious question: could they meet up?

Alison agreed to meet him at his office, which sounds like a sensible precaution.

Get ready for the violins!

Alison said, "I looked up, because he was very tall, and found lovely brown eyes and, in spite of myself, was pleased to find he looked exactly as his voice sounded."

After just two dates Alison had fallen in love with Efi and on the third date he proposed. She told him that she couldn't answer him right away but they carried on dating.

The good news is that they did get married, in Israel, and now have two sons aged ten and seven.

The final word from Alison: "I often think how strange it was that I should have accidentally called an office on a Sunday and my future husband answered the phone. I don't believe in fate - but I do believe that life is full of many possibilities and that you should keep your mind open to them all."

The Bizarre Fantasy That Came True

Today's post has the lot: coincidences, instinct, following dreams plus romance and maybe a few lessons for us all.

Jessica Fox, in her mid twenties, lived in Los Angeles and was very much into the business of running her own film production company. However there was a restlessness inside her and also a dream or fantasy.

Jessica's fantasy was to work in a second hand bookshop near to the sea in Scotland. It all seemed crazy but she explained, "I just knew I had to be there, it felt right." So much so that she started sketching scenes from such a life: herself wearing scarves in a bookshop, cycling down to a windswept beach and so on.

Most of us would probably have soon erased such an adventure from our minds, thinking it too far fetched and even perhaps a little too silly. But Jessica stuck with her dreams.

As can happen in life she had the opportunity to take an extended vacation and set about bringing her fantasy to reality.

But where to start? The old favourite Google. She did a search for 'used bookshop Scotland' and Scotland's National Book Town of Wigtown came up. The largest bookshop in the area seemed to be something called, strangely enough, The Book Shop so she sent them an email, together with a photo of herself. She told them how she would like to work for them during her holiday.

A little later there was a reply stating simply, "Tell me about yourself." Jessica thought this would have come from, "a sweet 80 year old grandfather, typing with one finger."

She did as requested and the shop's owner, Shaun Bythell, suggested she made her way to Wigtown in time for the local Book Festival. Jessica booked her flight and four weeks later set off for Scotland, though she was beginning to feel a little unsure about what she was doing, "It's one thing to have visions in your head but its another to carry them out. I had come across the world to live in a house of a man I'd never met and in a place I knew nothing about."

Shaun was at the airport to meet her and surprise, surprise he wasn't 80 years old and what's more he had been involved in television production prior to buying the bookshop with the help of a bank loan.

They had lots in common, "He picked me up from the airport and we talked non stop all the way back. I was exhausted from jet lag but we had an instant affinity." Only slight dampener was the fact that Shaun had a girlfriend.

But she hadn't come for romance and when she pulled into Wigtown, "... it was so quaint, surrounded by hills, sea, farms and forest. It was dark but absolutely magical. Going into the bookshop was like walking into a Harry Potter film. There were higgledy-piggledy bookshelves and the rooms kept opening into more rooms, with secret doors and creaking floors."

Jessica settled in quickly to her new temporary life and loved the book festival where she met many British authors and also Princess Anne.

All good things, some say, must come to an end. In what seemed no time at all Shaun was driving her to the airport for her return to LA.

Once the couple had separated Shaun and Jessica realised the depth of their feelings for each other. Jessica explained, "All these emotions bubbled to the surface - people say absence makes the heart grow fonder, and it took leaving to understand how much it all meant to me."

Shaun separated from his girlfriend.

Three months later Jessica left her job, packed her belongings, gave up her apartment and headed back to Scotland. Shaun was waiting to meet the plane and Jessica "... ran into his arms for our first kiss and it couldn't have been more perfect."

The couple have now been together for two years and have launched their own film company Picto Productions.

So will there be wedding bells soon? Jessica answered, "Who knows what's around the corner? That's the thing with adventures - you never know. But I couldn't be happier that I followed my instincts."