In August 2023, Shelagh, 70, met Tony, 73, for a blind date in a restaurant in south London. The connection between them was immediate. In their interviews after the meal, both described being disarmed by the other’s honesty. They skipped the usual first date chit-chat and jumped straight to weightier topics: divorce, politics and religion.
In my role as the Guardian’s matchmaker, I always hope couples will hit it off, but in Tony and Shelagh’s case I felt unusually confident. I emailed them, asking to be kept abreast of any updates. They replied with a photograph of themselves in front of the Colosseum, on a mini‑break in Rome.
