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Metro
17 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Metro
Long lost love and bitter breakups - the story behind the OG social network
25 years ago, tweeting was something only birds did, an influencer was not yet a job title, and Facebook could be mistaken for something that might happen if you fell asleep while reading. Social media was very much in its infancy, but one groundbreaking website called Friends Reunited provided an early premonition of the power it would soon hold in our lives. Founded by spouses Steve and Julie Pankhurst and their friend Jason Porter in June 2000, Friends Reunited users could set up a profile by inputting their school and years of attendance to find anyone who overlapped. The UK-based platform truly appealed to our innate curiosity of 'I wonder what happened to them?' At its peak, Friends Reunited had three million users and, in 2005, the three founders sold it to ITV for £175million. Steve and Julie, each received £30 million, while Jason received £20 million. However, with new platforms such as Myspace and Facebook entering the social media circus, four years later, the site was sold to DC Thompson for just £25m in 2009. After those early, heady years of curiosity, Friends Reuinted finally logged out of our lives in 2016, with Steve announcing in a blog post that the 'sunset of an era' had taken hold. With only a handful of users and industry giants proving unbeatable, the website was over. Although the URL no longer exists, the evidence of its time online can still be found everywhere, from wholesome reunions and romances to a surge in divorces as bored husbands and wives connected with old flames. To mark 25 years since the launch of Friends Reunited, three people tell Metro how it wrecked and rekindled their relationships. 'In 2001, a good friend of mine asked me, 'Have you heard of Friends Reunited? It's really cool.' Intrigued to see what it was all about, I set up a profile. The next day, I got a message from Steve saying, 'I remember you'. We both went to the same school in the mid-80s, but to my knowledge, we'd never spoken as he was in the year below. I did know who he was, though, because he lived opposite my best friend. Soon, we were regularly chatting over email, and he constantly made me laugh. He admitted in one message that he'd had a big crush on me at school, which was flattering. After six weeks, I agreed to meet him at a local pub for a date. Three years before, I had unexpectedly become a single mother three weeks before giving birth to my son Ben, and hadn't had a serious relationship since, so I was quite nervous. I didn't know if I could trust anybody again. I recognised Steve straight away, but without wanting to sound horrible, I was very happy he didn't look like he did at school. Steve is like a fine wine and has got an awful lot more handsome. He's now 6 ft 2, and I'd always wanted a tall partner, so that was a tick too. We sat for hours in the corner of that pub talking. I came with baggage, so I knew it would take a certain someone to understand and not be jealous. Steve did that with ease. He was so lovely that my friends did say, 'I think Steve Jacobs is too nice for you'. In my 20s, that might have been the case, but I'd matured out of that phase of wanting bad boys, so we had a little kiss in the car park while saying goodbye. It was a whirlwind of lovely dates and fun holidays after that. I'd drop off Ben with his dad on his weekends and go straight to Steve's flat. He'd hand over a glass of wine and immediately run me a bath. A few months later, Steve met Ben, and that's when I realised he was a keeper. Ben even started calling Steve dad. Eleanor joined our family in February 2004, and then we got married in August, so we'll be celebrating 21 years soon. When we talk about how we met again on Friends Reunited, often people don't even know what we're talking about. But I'll always be grateful to the website because if it didn't exist, we might never have started speaking again, and we wouldn't have our wonderful life together. I just love him. I love his personality. I love his kindness. I love everything about him.' 'Everyone knew who Jo was because she was one of the prettiest girls at school. I always had a crush on her — I'd even watch from my window when she'd walk to her friend's house. I liked her, but felt like I didn't ever stand a chance. I didn't have many choices for girlfriends at school. In fact, I had none. I recently found my old diary, and in one entry, I describe bumping into Jo while I was at college. I was playing squash with my friends and saw Jo walk past the glass walls. She was an aerobics instructor, so she was leaving a class. I rushed out so I could chat with her. I wrote: 'Oh my god, best day ever, spoke to Jo for ages. She's so nice.' We checked Jo's diary from the same day, and I wasn't even mentioned. I didn't sign up to Friends Reunited to see Jo again, but was pleased when I found her profile, and very quickly got in touch. I'd had a few catch-ups on there, but none had lasted longer than five minutes, but with Jo, we couldn't stop talking. I hadn't met anyone I considered marrying before Jo, and I wasn't interested in having children at that point in my life, but she changed everything. At our wedding, I had to mention in my speech that we 're-met' on Friends Reunited. It took a while, but in the end, I got my dream girl.' 'Friends Reunited put the final nail in the coffin of my marriage just after my thirteenth wedding anniversary. The relationship had been on life support for many years. We had a young child and a home life which revolved around them. As a couple, we barely went out and had become friends at best. I was never bothered about looking up my old school friends or work colleagues, figuring that if I'd wanted to stay in touch, I would have. But my ex happily set up an account, filled in her details and began stalking old classmates. She started messaging one former friend who decided to set up a small reunion. This was in the late noughties, when the whole school reunion thing was having its heyday. In hindsight, it was incredibly naive not to have been the least bit concerned that my wife was meeting her childhood sweetheart for drinks, along with a few others, in a local pub. But none of us quite understood the power of social media back then. Friends Reunited allowed people a window to the past that had previously been closed. Now we can barely fathom a time when it wasn't easy to stay in touch with everyone, no matter where they are, or indeed to trace an ex-lover. I don't know what went on that night, but I can guess. She came home in the early hours, long after the pubs had shut, and merely said how great it had been to catch up on a few old faces the next morning. I asked who was there, she reeled off names, one of whom was her former first love. Her behaviour started to change almost immediately, small things, out of character. We'd never bothered locking our phones — this was pre-smartphone brick Nokias — or even carrying them around with us in the house. They stayed on the side in the kitchen. But now my wife carried her phone everywhere, the screen lock was on, and unlike before, it was permanently on silent. When the second 'reunion' was organised for the following week, my suspicions heightened. I had a gut feeling but felt bad about being suspicious, so I said nothing. Over the following weeks, she started to buy new clothes and going out more socially, once or twice a week. It was totally out of character, but I didn't want to look like a jealous husband, so even encouraged her. More Trending Around a month after the first reunion, she told me she wanted a separation. I was not surprised. She admitted she had been seeing her school sweetheart. Friends Reunited had undone thirteen years of marriage in around four weeks – although in fairness, the rot had set in long before. Initially, I was devastated. It felt like the future we'd planned had been taken away. I didn't want to split up for the sake of our child, but she was adamant; she wanted to be with this guy. Soon after, he left his wife, and she moved in with him. We kept everything friendly and divorced a year later. Today, she is still with him, living an equally humdrum life, while I met an amazing woman and have never been happier. So, by that regard, I owe Friends Reunited a debt of gratitude.' *Names have been changed Jo Jacob runs a professional home organiser business called Benella , and Steve Jacob founded Hometown Events . Do you have a story you'd like to share? Get in touch by emailing Share your views in the comments below. MORE: In defence of Meghan Markle's twerking pregnancy video MORE: A bite of duck helped me finally accept my sexuality MORE: Like Jessie J, I was told I had early breast cancer
Daily Record
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Record
Inside Scots DJ Calvin Harris' big life changes from fatherhood to copyright row
Inside Scots DJ Calvin Harris' big life changes from fatherhood to copyright row Calvin Harris has been in the eye of the storm recently over his new track Blessings, which has been compared to Chicane's hit Offshore, leading to TikTok debate. Calvin Harris and Vick Hope are to become parents (Image: Jed Cullen/Dave Benett/Getty Ima ) Calvin Harris has been making headlines once more, although not necessarily for the right reasons. The Scottish DJ has found himself viral on TikTok following the release of his new hit track, Blessings. The Dumfries-born DJ has been enjoying chart success lately with his new track, which has appeared to divide opinion in a furious rant with DJ Chicane over claims he 'copied' the star's iconic hit, Offshore. The argument has recently taken TikTok by storm. The 41-year-old is soon to become a dad alongside wife Vick Hope, after she announced her pregnancy earlier in May, he continues his chart-topping success despite certain backlash. But what actually happened and where did his career all begin? Early career Calvin, real name Adam Richard Wiles, has had quite the career blow-up since discovering his passion for music in high school at the age of just 15. The Scottish DJ, born in Dumfries, went from uploading his tracks on Myspace to becoming one of the most famous and well paid DJs on the planet with a stream of number one hits. Calvin Harris got into music at the age of 15 (Image: Getty Images ) Article continues below He went on to release two songs through the Prima Facie label in 2002. After an unsuccessful stint in London, he returned to Dumfries and developed solo recordings at home and posted them on his 'Myspace' page before being signed to a record label in 2006. His first studio album 'I Created Disco', released in 2007, debuted at no.8 on the UK Albums Chart with hit singles Acceptable In The 80s and The Girls. Just two years later, the DJ released his second studio album which debuted at no.1 on the UK Albums Chart and received gold certification later that year. It was after this album that he moved away from singing, and focussed on his role as a producer and allowing other vocalists to take the lead on his tracks. Calvin's success just kept getting bigger and better, as his collaboration with Rihanna on We Found Love for his third album was his first single to reach no.1 in the US - fully launching his career to superstardom. As reported on WealthyGorilla, Calvin Harris is the richest DJ in the world with a net worth of £300million. 'Copyright' song drama Chicane, real name Nicholas Bracegirdle, claimed that Calvin's new single copies his 1996 classic Offshore, which spent eight weeks in the charts. He shared a two-minute video on TikTok showing how a riff in Offshore cut and looped sounded the same as Blessings. He began by stating: "I'm Nick Chicane and welcome to the video that I thought I would never have to make. This is my right to reply to all the comments online about the new Calvin Harris single Blessings' similarity to my 30-year old Offshore." He played the two singles on his music editing software before stating: "It's really hard to decipher when one comes in and one goes, that is because they are almost identical. I am defending my copyright and intellectual property here guys - I'd like to know what your comments are here guys." It was Calvin's response however that had Scottish fans in hysterics. He filmed an eight-minute video insisting he hadn't copied the track, of him playing the two singles. He laughed and branded Nick 'stupid' as he insisted: "it's not the same, it's not the f***ing same." People were quick to hilariously compare his rant to that in Trainspotting. He captioned the post: "Response to the people calling me a plagiarist over the last couple of days after that guys video, all the best." Calvin then claimed in the comments that Chicane had actually used a sample in his song, writing: "If you make it to the end you're rewarded with the track HE ripped off originally for his song." Becoming a dad Elsewhere in his personal life, Calvin is set to become a dad alongside wife Vick Hope. The pair first met back in 2022, and later tied the knot in an outdoor carnival-themed ceremony the following year. Vick and Calvin's baby is set to have an interesting start to life with the pair owning several homes, including a farm in Ibiza and a 10-acre estate in the Cotswolds. The couple announced they were set to become parents earlier this month. The pair are reported to be in the process of building a mansion on their Cotswolds estate, which is reported to become their main place of residence. BBC Radio host Vick stressed on air that she didn't want to make a big deal out of her pregnancy. She said: "This is not an announcement, by the way. People keep saying are you going to announce, are you going to announce? And I'm like, I'm not the King. Article continues below "I'll be honest, I struggle with anything that's personal or private. I will tell you a story about eating a kebab out of a bin, that's one thing. "But there's a line and so I've never been that big on sharing. Particularly because I've just been enjoying this privately and quietly."
New York Times
25-04-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Every Love Letter Had Its Rose
Amy Milagro Badia and Daniel Naranjo share a 'memory box' from their 12-year relationship. In it is a plane ticket from his first trip to Moca, Dominican Republic, where her family is from; an Eiffel Tower key chain from their vacation to Paris; the cork from the champagne bottle they popped the night of their proposal; and love letters they wrote each other in high school. Ms. Badia took out mementos from the box a few days before her wedding, getting emotional as she reminisced. 'One of the first things Daniel ever taught me was how to draw a rose,' Ms. Badia said of their high school years. 'And on all of our love letters, there's little roses that we've drawn each other.' 'You could just see the love from the beginning,' she added. 'We've talked about this day for so long, and now, it's here.' Technically, Ms. Badia and Ms. Naranjo, both 29, met in prekindergarten in Englewood, N.J., where they're both from, but she doesn't remember him. He does, though: 'She was part of the cool kids in the pre-K class,' he said. (During their adult years, they discovered photos together from prekindergarten, including a photo of them posing at his birthday party.) After prekindergarten, Mr. Naranjo and his family lived in West Palm Beach, Fla., for a few years before returning to Englewood, where the two attended the same middle school and high school. In middle school, he said, he sent her some messages on Myspace, but she never responded to them. (Again, she doesn't recall this.) One weekend in May 2012, during her junior year and his senior year, a friend hosted two parties when his parents were out of town. At the first party, Mr. Naranjo was too shy and nervous to even look at Ms. Badia, she recalled: 'I was like, 'Is this guy gonna talk?'' 'I was so shy that first day because I was like, 'Yo, I don't want to mess it up,'' Mr. Naranjo said. At the second party the following night, Mr. Naranjo loosened up, and they started chatting. 'We just hit it off like if we were together forever,' she said. He walked her home, and they messaged each other the whole night. That summer, they spent many nights climbing ladders on buildings for scenic rooftop views. 'Our dates were super simple because we were in high school, so we didn't really have money to do stuff,' Ms. Badia said. One of those nights, when they saw a shooting star, they made wishes. When she asked him what his wish was, he said, 'That you're my girlfriend.' Ms. Badia responded: 'I'm already your girlfriend.' 'It was so high school, just like so cheesy,' she said, but endearing. [Click here to binge read this week's featured couples.] In the fall of 2012, Mr. Naranjo went to Bergen Community College to study fine arts, eventually dropping out to pursue a career as a tattoo artist. Ms. Badia graduated from Rutgers University with a bachelor's degree in public health. In September 2019, they moved into an apartment in Englewood. 'We were having a ton of fun,' Ms. Badia said. 'We finally had money.' And in November 2022, Mr. Naranjo proposed in Chiang Mai, Thailand, during a dinner at a waterside gazebo. In December 2023, the couple moved to Scottsdale, Ariz., so that Ms. Badia could pursue a career in aviation. She currently works as an administrative coordinator at Merriman Market Analyst. Mr. Naranjo is a tattoo artist at Monarch Studio in Phoenix, and he is an owner of Ink Wave Studio, a tattoo shop in Hackensack, N.J. On April 16, the couple were married at Bel Vino Winery in Temecula, Calif., in front of 35 guests. The ceremony was officiated by Hector Duron, a minister from an officiant service in La Verne, Calif., called Joining Hearts. On the morning of the wedding, they had breakfast together before splitting up to get ready. They met at the venue for their first look, and they read their vows to each other privately. After the ceremony and dinner, the night ended with music and dancing. The D.J. played traditional Latin American genres like bachata, merengue and salsa, as well as hip-hop, R&B, reggaeton and dembow. Looking back at it, Ms. Badia said that the first night they spoke at their friend's party in high school was when she knew he was the one. 'We were walking home and there were some sprinklers because it was nighttime, and Daniel playfully picked me up and ran through the sprinklers,' Ms. Badia said. 'When he touched me, I had this sensation inside and I was like, 'Whoa, what happened?' That feeling is the same feeling that I get now to this day when he hugs me.'
Express Tribune
13-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Express Tribune
Charli XCX lights up Coachella 2025 with 'Brat' anthems and surprise guests Billie Eilish, Lorde, and Troye Sivan
Charli XCX turned Coachella 2025 into a full-throttle rave on Saturday night, thrilling fans with a neon-charged set packed with 'Brat' bangers and surprise appearances by Billie Eilish, Lorde, and Troye Sivan. The British pop provocateur transformed the main stage into a clubland spectacle, opening with '365' under strobing lights and heavy bass. The crowd erupted when Troye Sivan joined her for their track 'Talk talk,' bringing the chemistry from their joint Sweat Tour back to life. Lorde followed shortly after for a rare performance of 'Girl, So Confusing,' a meta moment given the song's commentary on their complicated friendship. The ultimate surprise came when Billie Eilish emerged to perform their collaboration 'Guess,' drawing deafening screams from the audience. While Charli's 'Brat' era dominated the setlist, she also revisited fan favourites including 'I Love It,' 'Unlock It,' and 'Track 10.' Known for her rave origins and Myspace discovery, Charli channelled her early days while showcasing Grammy-winning artistry. The visuals, minimal yet effective, featured stone block props and glitchy camerawork that added to the industrial aesthetic. As the performance ended, the words 'Is it time to end Brat summer?' appeared onscreen — a playful nod to the cultural impact of her latest era. \
The Guardian
12-03-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
The US's plutocrats and politicians want more, more, more. Matt LeBlanc shows us a better way
'Nothing will come of nothing,' King Lear said. He was totally wrong, I'm afraid. The truth is, a lot can come from nothing. More specifically: great life satisfaction can come from doing very little. You know who is well aware of that? Matt LeBlanc (AKA Joey from Friends), the king of 90s primetime TV. A TikTok featuring resurfaced interviews in which LeBlanc extols the joys of sloth is generating enormous enthusiasm online. The TikTok pulls from a 2018 interview in which LeBlanc gushed about how much he enjoyed taking time off after Friends and then cuts to a 2017 interview in which he said: 'I should be a professional nothing.' Speaking to Conan O'Brien, LeBlanc explained: 'Because I think I would like to do not a fucking thing. That's what I would like to do. Just nothing. Nothing. Zero.' (Same, Matt, same.) Why is this old clip getting so much new attention? Because in a world that fetishises productivity, it seems that people appreciate someone unapologetically enjoying being lazy. Perhaps more importantly, however, at a time when it seems as if the rich and powerful never have enough, but are constantly seeking more, more, more, it's refreshing to see someone be content with what they have. Obviously, LeBlanc has millions and is a household name, so it's not like he is making do. Still, having gazillions doesn't seem to stop others from trying to claw their way to more, does it? Look at tech oligarchs such as Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg, for example. They have more money than God and instead of quietly enjoying it they are throwing funds at Donald Trump so they can try to get even more influence over our daily lives. The one good tech multimillionaire seems to be Tom Anderson, the co-founder of Myspace. After he sold the site for bags of money, he quickly retired; now, he travels the world having fun. He hasn't tried to set up some dystopian new venture or become a politician. He's just enjoying life. And look at the US government, which is crammed with people well past the age of retirement who refuse to cede power. US gerontocracy is so absurd that, last year, the then 81-year-old Kay Granger, who had been a Republican congresswoman since 1997, was mysteriously absent from work for months. A reporter found Granger residing at a senior living facility while dealing with 'dementia issues'. She could have retired decades before, but, like many of her colleagues, she seemed determined to continue working. The moral of all this? A lot of people leading the US should be more like Joey from Friends. Try to enjoy retirement, please! Just give it a go! Particularly you, Elon. Please try doing a lot, lot less. Arwa Mahdawi is a Guardian columnist
