In our experience
Falling for someone isn’t always straightforward – or expected – but love later in life has made these women happier than they thought possible
‘Happiness can be snatched away so quickly’
Stacey Macdonald, 45, lost her first husband to a heart attack at Christmas in 2013. A year later, she met Angus (pictured, right), 50. They are now married and live on the Isle of Lewis with Stacey’s daughter, Ronah, 21.
I was a high-flyer in banking and a single mum when I met Chris in a Glasgow bar in 2008. I was 31, he was 41 and we immediately clicked. His life’s mission was to make people happy – especially me and my daughter Ronah, then six. Within months, we were a family – Chris quickly became a fantastic stepfather – and we married in 2013.
But one December morning, just 62 days after our wedding, I came downstairs to find Chris slumped, silent and still, on the sofa. My wonderful friend and husband was dead, taken from us by a massive heart attack.
Telling 12-year-old Ronah that her dad was in heaven was the worst thing possible, and we wept together.
Chris and I had planned a Christmas house-warming party on 28 December.
Instead, we held his funeral that day. One thousand people came to commemorate his life – that’s how special he was.
Getting through that first year was hard. Each anniversary – Chris’ birthday, the day we’d first met, the day he’d proposed – reminded me so painfully of what I’d lost.
Then, on the first anniversary of Chris’ death, I realised I didn’t want to be lonely any more. I knew Chris would have wanted me to be happy, so I took my courage in my hands and posted a profile on a dating site.
Within two weeks I’d connected with Angus. We talked online for over a month; he told me he was divorced and didn’t have children. I told him all about Chris, and he was deeply sympathetic about my loss. Gradually, a real friendship developed.
Eventually we met for a drink in Glasgow, and felt an instant spark. In fact, we spent the next two days together and, before long, he invited me to his home on the Isle of Lewis for the weekend.
I remember it was dark when I arrived, but the next morning when I opened the curtains, the beach view took my breath away. I suddenly felt I belonged here in Lewis, with Angus.
Ronah and I moved in, and a year later, Angus proposed in February 2016. I said yes and we married that September. Now, I have everything I’ve ever wanted – love, security, friendship and a brilliant stepdad for Ronah. I even run my own business.
I’m acutely aware of how the happiness you take for granted can be snatched away.
So I don’t think too much about
