A clumsy husband accidentally text another woman instead of his wife – only to end up marrying her.
Former security guard Peter Mctaggart, 46, met his current wife Mary, 60, in 2003 after repeatedly texting her number – thinking it was his wife’s.
After receiving three messages from the stranger, Mary, who was also married to someone else at the time, responded to let Peter know he must have the wrong number.
But their relationship soon blossomed over text messages and the pair confided each about their failing relationships – until Peter travelled from Bolton, Lancashire, to stay with Mary and her then husband.
When Peter’s wife found out about their friendship and Mary eventually split from her own partner, the pair realised that “fate had brought them together”.
Despite the unusual method of meeting and the 14-year age gap, the couple claim their shared sense of humour ensures they are well matched.Mary, from Newcastle, Tyne and Wear, said: “It was fate that brought us together.”When I first received Peter’s messages, I just ignored them I had no idea who they were from.
“I was receiving messages in the early hours of the morning because Peter worked at a similar time to me and thought he was texting his wife.”Then one day I had the courage to say ‘I’m sorry, but I don’t know who you are’ and he apologised.”
But we kept in touch on and off about our days after realising we both worked similar hours.
“We chatted about what was going on in our lives and eventually got round to talking about our relationships at the time.”It turned out Peter was having the same problems in his relationship too and we used each other as a backbone really.”
After over a year of texting and talking on the phone as just friends, Peter had a blazing row with his wife and came to stay with Mary and her then-husband.Mary said: “Peter came up for a couple of days after an argument with his wife and he stayed at my house with me and my husband.
“Before he came to Newcastle he’d only sent me one photograph of himself and his son at his wedding – that’s all I’d seen.”
But I knew he was in need and after talking to my ex-husband, he suggested he came and stayed with us. There was nothing romantic at that point.”He tried to get his head together while I just got on with my normal routineSeter went back to his hometown of Bolton in March 2004, he left his wife a couple of weeks later and went to stay with a friend.In July, Mary left her husband and went to stay with her sister, while Peter decided to move up to Newcastle to be near her – although they insist they were only friends at this point.
“There was one number different between my wife at the time and Mary’s numbers.”I’d sent a few messages and Mary eventually messaged back explaining I’d got the wrong number.”She explained who she was but I didn’t mention it to my wife because we were going through a bad patch.”From the same day we started talking to each other.
It was a case of messaging back and forth then.”Eventually, my wife found out about Mary but I was still keeping in touch and ringing her.”She didn’t like that – you can understand why.”One day it just got too much and I left.
I had to find somewhere to live.”I had to sleep on my friend’s sofas for a couple of months until I could move up to Newcastle.”I soon had a job lined up though and in July 2004 I moved up there.”
I was in the flat for about 18 months until 2006 when Mary and I got a house together.”We’ve got the same sense of humour and in the early days we could talk about the things that were going on in our lives. That’s how we grew closer.”