After 30 Years Apart... I Loved Him Even More

Karen Woods, 48, had forgotten all about her teenage romance until a face she recognised popped up on her screen…

- Danielle Hoffman & Louise Baty

Stepping out of the car, I saw a familiar smile. It was March 2016 and this was the first time I’d seen my ex-boyfriend in 30 years, yet it felt like yesterday. Despite the crow’s feet, his eyes were still as blue and twinkly as I remembered. And when he grinned, I still felt that little giddy excitement inside.

‘Hello Craig,’ I said, smiling. But as soon as the words left my lips, doubt set in. What was I thinking? We were in our mid-forties, our lives had swerved in different directions. We weren’t the same naive kids we’d been all those years before. How could this ever work?

Lost sweethearts

I first met Craig McDaid at secondary school in Manchester in the 1980s. We were just friends until we went on a school trip aged 14.

Sitting side by side on the coach, I suddenly noticed how good looking he was. As my hand reached for his, our friends spotted us. ‘Go on, kiss!’ yelled a voice from the back of the bus. Craig turned to me, but he just shrugged and smiled. It wasn’t until another two days later that he arrived on my doorstep.

‘I want to give you a kiss,’ he stammered, leaning towards me. From that moment on, we were inseparable.

Even our parents approved of our relationship. During the summer of 1985, I went to Wales with Craig and his family, and he joined mine for a week in Blackpool. We spent every day at the Pleasure Beach, laughing as we rode the roller coasters.

Relaxed and good-natured, I sensed Craig would go far in life and, back home, I loved being around him. But after we’d been together for nine months, I heard whispers that he’d kissed another girl.