My fare lady: Cabby's chance encounter with teenager sweetheart rekindles love after 35 years apart
17th March 2011
A pair of teenage sweethearts who lost contact for three decades have wed - 35 years after they separated.
Jean, 54, and Billy English, 56, were together for two years as teenagers until they split up and eventually married other people.
But 30 years later taxi driver Billy picked Jean up in his cab by chance - and the spark was rekindled.
Romance:
Cabbie Billy English picked up his teenage sweetheart
Jean in his cab 35 years after they lost contact
After a whirlwind romance, the couple were married on March 4 and are now committed to spending the rest of their lives together.
Billy and Jean, who grew up on the same street in Irvine, Ayrshire, were reunited when taxi driver Billy was called to pick up Jean up from her sister's house six years ago.
Jean said: 'That was the first time I had seen him in more than 30 years and my heart fell to my feet, I couldn't believe it was him.
'He hadn't changed and was still handsome.We reminisced and talked about old times. Everything all just came back and I thought, what did I do wrong?'
Billy, 56, said: 'I lost her once, I won't lose her again. We both look after each other and we've got a lot of things in common.
'I'm so happy now we're back together, I just think, what did I miss all those years we were apart?'
The pair grew up living across the road from each other in Irvine, Ayrshire, and got together as teenagers when 15-year-old Jean fell for Billy and his motorbike.
Teenage lovers:
Billy and Jean spend time together as youngsters in Irvine,
Ayrshire, before they drifted apart and married other people
Their romance blossomed in the 1970s as they took a weekly bus trip to nearby Troon to visit a motorcycle shop and drink cola in a cafe.
However, as Jean played the accordion in a dance band and Billy was busy being an apprentice mechanic, they drifted apart and stopped seeing each other at all.
Both got married around a year later and Jean went on to have five children, while Billy became father to two.
And in an interesting twist, the pair have since discovered they owned ice cream vans with their respective partners at the same time.
But while Billy sold scoops in Irvine, Jean traded tubs in neighbouring Kilwinning, North Ayrshire, so their paths never crossed.
Jean was still married as she prepared for her 50th birthday celebrations a year later and planned to go to Benidorm, Spain, with a group of friends.
Married:
Billy and Jean tuck into their wedding cake after tying the knot in
March this year shortly after they met again following 35 years apart
However, her husband Jackie Wilson was not keen on the trip and after she bumped into now-single Billy again it was agreed he would go on the holiday, with Jackie's consent.
It was on the break that the couple's spark was rekindled and they moved in together shortly after their return to Scotland.
Since then, they have discovered shared passions and the 'natural' next step was to get married, which they did on March 4.
Jean, who is currently unable to work due to ill-health, said: 'When I put on the wedding dress I said, 'I can't believe I'm getting married to Billy English after all these years'.
'I felt so proud. We get on fantastically, we've always got on well.
'We've got so much in common. We love karaoke, love to dress up and be daft.'
The wedding was held on the bowling green at Towerlands Sports Club as a nod to Jean's favourite sport.
And now the couple, who have 11 grandchildren between them, are excited about the time ahead.
Jean said: 'I don't feel any different being married to him than I did for the last five years I've been with him.
'It feels like it's always been this way. We get on really well with each other's families and after 35 years apart I'm looking forward to loads of love for the next 35 years.'
Source; http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... ds-newsxml
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I'm not a very lucky person tho 