Couple discover nursery picture of them sitting next to each other seven years after falling in love

Daily Mail​

a day ago

When electrical engineer Micheal Moore dropped his crush Ashleigh a message on Instagram in 2018, he was hoping for a chance to meet-up.
Luckily for him, Ashleigh instantly replied, and the pair, both from Runcorn in Cheshire, hit it off. Within a few years they were married with a son.
But incredibly the couple's love story started decades before, unbeknownst to them.
The couple, now both 26, actually attended the same nursery and even sat next to one another in a class photo - something they didn't discover until seven years after they got together.
In a nursery school picture that had been gathering dust in a box at Ashleigh's parents' home, the couple spotted two familiar faces staring back at them.
'It wasn't until we were moving out and sorting through pictures at our parents' house that we found the picture and realised we were sitting next to each other.
'We couldn't believe it. It was a lovely feeling to know that we've been a part of each other's lives for so long.'
Ashleigh, a stay at home mother to the couple's three-year-old son, Alfie, shared the image on TikTok where it has been viewed almost 800,000 times and received more than 400 comments.
She is expecting baby number two this July and their families could not be happier that they ended up together.
'Our family and friends absolutely love that we ended up together and call us childhood sweethearts.
'We had a brief relationship in secondary school at the age of 13 for a few months but remained close friends as we were in the same lessons.
'We left secondary school at the age of 16 in 2015.
'Michael went to Chester to do an apprenticeship and I went to sixth form so we lost contact.
'It wasn't until 2018 that we got back in contact through Instagram.'
The cute photo that Ashleigh shared online received adoring comments from viewers - and even led to others sharing their own stories.
One person said: 'Love how you both have the same expression on your face. So cute. Congratulations.'
A second viewer said: 'Oh I love a happy ending. I married my childhood sweetheart who lived six doors from me. Boyfriend and girlfriend since age nine and still together both age 62 now.
'This is me with my husband too. Our nursery photo together was handed round our wedding during my dads speech,' added Shannon.
Another person said: 'Currently looking at who's sat next to my children in their pictures and wondering if any will be their future spouse.'
'Wow. That is the cutest thing I've seen today, fair play,' added a fifth viewer.
It comes after another couple lucky enough to rekindle a decade-old relationship - albeit one with a very different beginning - were UK-based Zoe and Michael.
Club promoter Zoe, who fell in love on holiday, restarted her relationship and ultimately got married to her fling – 10 years after they first met each other.
The 33-year-old was working in Ayia Napa, Cyprus, giving out shots, when she met Michael, also 33, who was on a lads holiday in 2012.
The pair enjoyed a sparky holiday romance, meeting several times during Michael's trip.
Zoe even made a passing comment to a friend about Michael – claiming she had met the man she'll 'marry one day'.
Michael returned to Leeds, Yorkshire, after a week, while Zoe flew back to the UK a few months later to start a course at the University in Bournemouth, Dorset.
Five years later, Zoe sent a drunken message to Michael and, to her surprise, the connection was 'still there'.
The pair resumed their romance and Zoe left her job as an Emirates air steward, moving to Leeds to be with Michael.
They went on tie the knot in May 2022, 10 years after they first met on holiday, and recently welcomed their firstborn, son Leo, in February 2023.
Zoe, a content creator, from Leeds, Yorkshire, said: 'When I met Michael, I remember saying to my friend, "I've met the man I'm going to marry." 'During that holiday, he said the same thing to his mates about me.
'I never in a million years imagined I'd actually marry him 10 years later.
'Despite losing contact, the connection was still there.
'It's not all been plain sailing, but I'm so glad I followed my heart.'
Zoe was working as a promoter in Cyprus during the summer of 2012, while taking a gap year before starting university.
Michael was on a lads holiday when he first crossed paths with Zoe.
She said: 'We met when I was encouraging them to come in for shots.
'I don't remember what we spoke about, but I remember how he made me feel.
'There was an immediate connection, and I had this gut feeling about us.'
During Michael's week-long trip, they met up several times for dates on the Island.
They exchanged numbers and continued messaging when Michael returned home a week later.
Zoe flew back to the UK in September 2012, ready to start university.
She said: 'We were both in very different places in life.
'He was focused on his career, and I was about to start my course.
'We ended up drifting apart, but we kept liking each other's photos on Facebook.'
Five years later, in 2019, Zoe had just gone through a break-up when she met with a friend.
They started discussing past relationship, and her friend reminded her of 'Michael from holiday'.
'We had a few bottles of wine, and I looked him up online,' she said.
'He had two children but was also single.
'I genuinely wasn't expecting anything to come from it, but I sent a drunk message to see how he was doing.
'It was like no time had passed.
'We immediately hit it off again.'
Zoe, who was working as an air steward at the time, ended up leaving her job and moving to Yorkshire to live with Michael in 2020.
The pair were hit with lockdown but despite the difficult circumstances, they made it work.
She said: 'It was definitely tough at times - I moved my entire life there.
'I never expected to become a stepmum.
'But we took it all slowly, and the kids were so welcoming.
'Through all of it, Michael was so loving and supportive. I knew I had made the right decision.'
During a trip to Greece in September 2020, Michael proposed to Zoe and they started planning the wedding.
They tied the knot two years later in Athens, Greece, in May 2022, with 55 close family and friends.
'We met near Greece, so it's always been very special to us,' she said.
'The proposal was perfect, and it really cemented my feelings that I'd made the right decision.
'It was such a magical wedding.'
In 2023, the couple were overjoyed to welcome their son Leo, 20-months-old.
Zoe said: 'We've got through difficult times, but throughout all of it I've had Michael by my side.
'Things might not always be the fairytale you envision, but if put in the work it could be so much better.'