I'm proof that whirlwind romances like Caroline Flack's CAN last the distance

Absolutely determined to see a full concert, I found out Maximo Park were doing a Newcastle homecoming gig in December. Finding an extremely random link to the band, via my mum’s cousin’s ex-husband, I began a pestering process to try and swing tickets to this sold-out event.

On the day of the concert, I got a text confirming my place on their guestlist for that evening. During the gig I had this euphoric feeling, and shortly after my sister and I headed to the afterparty. After approaching a member of the band to cringingly tell him how much it meant to be there, I headed back to the bar. I then noticed a gorgeous guy behind me and started telling him I was cold (not the best chat up line) and to make the most of the free bar (a bit better).

From the minute we swapped numbers, I eagerly awaited text chats. We became inseparable and it’s a cliché, but I just knew. Chris was everything I’d ever wanted. He proposed romantically on Easter weekend 2008 and I said yes before he even got the question out. I’ve got to say, we shocked a lot of people. My mum however, told us that she’d predicted we’d get married the minute she met him.

Leigh-Anne Pinnock just shared her first wedding dress pictures and our jaws are on the floor

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Simply wanting to be married and start our life as husband and wife, we arranged a wedding super quick, and ended up planning our dream day. We went for a church ceremony, followed by an intimate meal in the gorgeous Jesmond Dene House in Newcastle, and then a big party with homemade cake and cocktails.

At our evening do, the DJ dropped his laptop during the first song, prompting guests to sing us through our first dance. It was absolutely perfect.

Following our honeymoon, and having planned a baby quickly because of the endometriosis, we were thrilled to find out I was pregnant. A few complications followed, including hyperemesis gravidarum before Kate Middleton made it well known, and an absolutely awful early labour scare. We clung to each other throughout, and our relationship became even stronger.

While those around us were following the conventional route of living together before an engagement, saving for a house and then planning their wedding, we made it up as we went along. We’d both lived in separate flats during our engagement, getting our own place just after the wedding.

Chris and I later moved in with my parents to save up a deposit, meaning Mum and Dad could enjoy some retirement travels too. We welcomed our second baby whilst living there and bought our first house when he was almost a year old.

It’s not the path people expected us to take and I think that’s one reason why I’m so proud of our story. We’ve grown together and created our family, simultaneously working on careers side by side. Our whirlwind romance blossomed into a brilliant life together and I absolutely can’t wait to celebrate that magical decade of marriage.

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