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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
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| How a random text message ended happily ever after | How a random text message ended happily ever after |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Kirsty and Donovan were brought together by one random, made-up number | Kirsty and Donovan were brought together by one random, made-up number |
| When Donovan Shears sent a text message to a random number in 1998, it changed the course of his life. | When Donovan Shears sent a text message to a random number in 1998, it changed the course of his life. |
| He had been given his first mobile phone for his 18th birthday and had just discovered text messaging. | He had been given his first mobile phone for his 18th birthday and had just discovered text messaging. |
| He made up a random number and sent off a message saying "hello", to which his future wife Kirsty wrote back "hi". | He made up a random number and sent off a message saying "hello", to which his future wife Kirsty wrote back "hi". |
| They said: "That single moment led to over 20 years of love, laughter, and partnership." | They said: "That single moment led to over 20 years of love, laughter, and partnership." |
| Out of several messages to unknown numbers he sent from the Coventry pub where he was working that night, Kirsty in Cleethorpes was the only one to reply. | Out of several messages to unknown numbers he sent from the Coventry pub where he was working that night, Kirsty in Cleethorpes was the only one to reply. |
| In 2002, the couple got married in Scotland, where Kirsty is from, and now have two children, aged six and nine. | In 2002, the couple got married in Scotland, where Kirsty is from, and now have two children, aged six and nine. |
| We still do: Kirsty and Donovan Shears | We still do: Kirsty and Donovan Shears |
| Kirsty said she replied to Donovan's message thinking it was someone she knew, but whose number she had not saved in her phone. | |
| Speaking to BBC CWR, they remembered how they first met at Coventry railway station and went for their first date at the Colosseum. | Speaking to BBC CWR, they remembered how they first met at Coventry railway station and went for their first date at the Colosseum. |
| Donovan said: "I started sending out random text messages, showing off to my friends. | Donovan said: "I started sending out random text messages, showing off to my friends. |
| "I picked the first four digits the same as mine, then the last three digits randomly - it was probably about five or six different numbers - and then didn't think anything of it." | "I picked the first four digits the same as mine, then the last three digits randomly - it was probably about five or six different numbers - and then didn't think anything of it." |
| Kirsty said: "We would text through the day and then obviously it would become more and more frequent and then at one point we decided we should phone each other. | Kirsty said: "We would text through the day and then obviously it would become more and more frequent and then at one point we decided we should phone each other. |
| "We started speaking over the phone as well as [texting] during the day and then eventually it come up to the August Bank Holiday 1998. | "We started speaking over the phone as well as [texting] during the day and then eventually it come up to the August Bank Holiday 1998. |
| "I said to my stepsister, I've got to go and meet this guy, and she was like 'he could be anyone', and I was like 'yes, I know' but I was 18 and didn't really think about consequences. | "I said to my stepsister, I've got to go and meet this guy, and she was like 'he could be anyone', and I was like 'yes, I know' but I was 18 and didn't really think about consequences. |
| "I just got on a train and came to Coventry." | "I just got on a train and came to Coventry." |
| More than 20 years on from their big day, the pair will be taking part in a mass renewal of vows at Coventry Cathedral on Valentine's Day, organised by BBC CWR. | More than 20 years on from their big day, the pair will be taking part in a mass renewal of vows at Coventry Cathedral on Valentine's Day, organised by BBC CWR. |
| Get in touch | Get in touch |
| Tell us which stories we should cover in Warwickshire | Tell us which stories we should cover in Warwickshire |
| Follow BBC Coventry & Warwickshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, external, X, external and Instagram, external. | Follow BBC Coventry & Warwickshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, external, X, external and Instagram, external. |