Joanne Chesney, 39, from Southend
Pouring a pint, I leaned across the bar and passed it to the handsome stranger across from me. ‘Here you go,’ I blushed. ‘Thanks,’ he grinned. ‘Any chance I can get your number?’
I first met Peter Chesney, then 27, in 2007, back when I was a barmaid in our hometown of Dagenham, Essex.
He was sweet and charming – I fell for him quickly.
On our first official date, he told me he was a single dad of two girls – Jodie, then six, and her sister Lucy, then eight.
He wasn’t in contact with their mum, and he had sole custody.
‘Does that bother you?’ he asked apprehensively.
‘Not at all,’ I smiled. ‘I’d love to meet them.’
I’d never really planned on having kids of my own, but I didn’t mind being with someone who did.
After a few months together, Peter introduced me to his girls.
‘Say hello to Joanne,’ he said, coaxing Jodie towards me.
‘Hi,’ she replied sweetly, peeking out from behind him.
When I first met her, she was very shy. It took her a little while to warm to me, but once she did, the two of us got
