Virtually Perfect! - Our Whirlwind Romance

They met on a dating site – in their seventies!

- Julie Jacobson

Colleen and Graeme Northe may have a combined age of 147 but theirs is a very modern love story.

The couple – she’s 75, he’s 72 – met through an online dating site, fell head over heels, and seven months later tied the knot at the Cambridge retirement village they now call home.

The whirlwind romance began early last year when Colleen, twice widowed and missing close family, decided to seek a companion online. Although she had a son in nearby Te Awamutu and a daughter in Hamilton, she pined for a house companion.

After several unsuccessful dates, she spotted Graeme’s profile and the two began “chatting”.

The attributes each was looking for in a potential partner were almost identical. But there was no “tall, dark and handsome” or “sense of humour a must”. Instead, what attracted the pair was their shared faith.

“I was very specific in what I wanted,” says Colleen with a laugh. “What I wanted most was somebody who was going to put the Lord first, so we could walk together with the Lord. Graeme’s profile said he was looking for a lady who would put the Lord first in her life.”

They emailed and exchanged phone numbers. Their first “real” date was at McDonald’s in Te Awamutu. Graeme was staying with a daughter in nearby Kihikihi and suggested they meet for coffee.