How a random text ended in happily ever after
BBCWhen Donovan Shears sent a text message to a random number in 1998, it changed the course of his life.
He had been given his first mobile phone for his 18th birthday and had just discovered text messaging.
He made up a random number and sent off a message saying "hello", to which his future wife Kirsty wrote back "hi".
"That single moment led to over 20 years of love, laughter, and partnership," they said.
Out of several messages to unknown numbers he sent from the Coventry pub where he was working that night, Kirsty in Cleethorpes was the only one to reply.
Fast forward four years, and the couple were getting married in Scotland, where Kirsty is from. They now also have two children, aged six and nine.
Kirsty said she replied to Donovan's message thinking it was someone she knew, but whose number she had not saved in her phone.
Speaking to BBC CWR, they remembered how they first met at Coventry railway station and went for their first date at the then well-known city nightclub, the Colosseum, which is now called The Kasbah.
Donovan said: "I started sending out random text messages, showing off to my friends.
"I picked the first four digits the same as mine, then the last three digits randomly - it was probably about five or six different numbers - and then didn't think anything of it."
Kirsty said: "We would text through the day and then obviously it would become more and more frequent and then at one point we decided we should phone each other."
"We were texting so much my phone bill was over £250 a month, I think that's when I decided we should call," Donovan continued.
"Feelings started to develop and she'd got the most beautiful Scottish accent, which attracted me to her as well."
The pair eventually met up about six months after Donovan sent the first text.
"I said to my stepsister, I've got to go and meet this guy, and she was like, 'He could be anyone', and I was like, 'Yes, I know', but I was 18 and didn't really think about consequences", Kirsty said.
"I just got on a train and came to Coventry."
'It was magical'
Donovan said he was scared to make the first move, but Kirsty was much more assured.
"The rest is history," he said.
"I remember coming back from our first night out and we just cuddled up, it was kind of magical in a way.
"She is an amazing woman, she's so intelligent and we know each other so well, she's my best friend as well as my wife."
More than 20 years on from their big day, the pair will be taking part in a mass renewal of vows at Coventry Cathedral on Valentine's Day, organised by BBC CWR.
Donovan said they are looking forward to celebrating the day as a family.
"I took my son for a suit fitting yesterday and he absolutely loved it, then my girl, she's like, 'I want to see Mummy get dressed up', she can't wait," he added.
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