Scrolling through the dating app Bumble, I stopped to look at the profile of a man called Justin. A kind-looking, handsome man, in his bio he explained he was a widower with two children. Typing out a message to him, I had no idea I’d just matched with the man I’d go on to fall in love with.
At the age of 51, starting a relationship with a widower, let alone one with young children, was the last thing on my mind. My own four children from a previous relationship were between 23 and 33 and I was busy with my work in child protection.
Then, in October 2021, a friend joked that, like her, I would be single forever. Instantly, I told her
