'We got a second chance at love like Bennifer'

When Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck rekindled their romance, it struck a chord with Becky Hines and her fiancé Olly Smith

- LUCY CLARKE-BILLINGS

'Last month, Jennifer Lopez announced she was engaged to Ben Affleck for the second time, and I couldn't help grinning.

My life as an ordinary Norfolk mum, living with my fiancé Olly, is a far cry from Hollywood. But like the celebrity couple, I've learned that the path of true love doesn't always run smoothly.

J.Lo and Ben split in 2003, both marrying and having kids with other people, before reuniting years later. The exact same thing happened to me and Olly - albeit without the media attention!

Olly and I met at school but he was two years older than me and, while we knew a lot of the same people, we never really got to know each other. It wasn't until 2005, when I was 24, that we started hanging around in the same circles.

Olly was such a nice guy and people always said how friendly and kind he was. Before we even dated, my sister said to me, "Olly Smith - he's marriage material."

When I saw him in the pub I'd think, "Oh, I hope he comes over." And when he did, the chemistry sizzled.

I'm sure lots of couples say this about themselves, but we felt a little different... We're both introverted at heart, so while we'd go out in a group, we'd end up breaking off and chatting, just the two of us in our own little world.

WRONG TIMING

By early 2006 we were blissfully dating. He was a gardener and I worked at a horse sanctuary, so we shared a love of the outdoors. We loved camping trips and festivals.

We laughed constantly and talked about getting married. So when we broke up just before Christmas in 2006, it was really hard.