In their 40’s Bridget and Jodi found one another, and fell in love between kid’s school dropoffs. But, their relationship has had its ups and downs.
Tell us more about finding love in your 40’s.
We found each other on a dating website at a ripe old age of 46 and 47. We hit it off instantly, and the next day were Facebook friends and had exchanged phone numbers. Every day all day, we texted, sent photos, and love quotes. Things progressed quite fast. Well, as fast as they could when we lived 400 kilometers apart. As we were both single mums, it was going to be a challenge to meet up without kids, and we didn’t know when it was going to be possible. But as luck would have it, we both would be free on a Friday the following week. So it took a week to actually meet up – a lot sooner than Jodi anticipated due to her nerves.
We met halfway in a little country town for a picnic lunch. It was ‘weak at the knees’ ‘hearts racing’ love at first sight. We spent the entire four hours talking, kissing, and laughing before we both had to get back home for school pick-up. Every weekend alternatively, we would make the ten-twelve hour round trip to see each other, and one of those weekends, three months later, we set the date to get married. We don’t remember who initiated it. It just seemed like the most natural thing in the world. We just had to be married.
What is your favorite memory together?
We have had so many beautiful times together, but we have both agreed that our weekend in the Hunter Valley reconnecting after a time apart was the best. Originally we had our wedding booked for that date, so we chose to do something special so it could still be a weekend to remember.
We met up for a picnic at a winery with a food platter and bottle of wine on a beautiful sunny day. It had been a long, painful six weeks apart, and seeing each other confirmed what we already knew that we were made for each other.
After that, we checked into the hotel stayed up all night talking, kissing, and laughing. The next day we went on a balloon flight that saw the sunrise over the hunter valley farms and wineries. Then we went wine tasting at a winery before having cocktails by the pool in the hotel kid-free yay! We finished the night having a romantic dinner and the next day was so hard to say goodbye.
What has been the biggest challenge you’ve had to overcome together?
When Jodi moved in, every month, the week leading up to my period, I became extremely insecure, anxious, and irritable. Jodi couldn’t tolerate the unpredictable moods and felt she had to move out. I went to see my doctor and discovered I have a mental health condition called Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD). PMDD causes extreme mood shifts that can disrupt work and damage relationships.
I was so embarrassed that I didn’t tell Jodi for two weeks. When I finally did tell her, she burst into tears because we could’ve fixed this earlier!
I was prescribed medication and, within days, felt a difference. After a few months of weekend visits to check all was good, we began to make plans for her to move back in.
I decided to share this in case it can help others because it nearly destroyed our relationship and this kind of love only comes along once in a lifetime.
Is there anything else that you would like to add?
We have so many weird coincidences that we cannot explain, and some could be just random. Some things are just mind-blowing. We both had babies at age 39, exactly six months apart. Both gave those kids our middle names, and when we talk about things we’ve done growing up, it’s like we’ve been living parallel lives. It was fate that we were always going to be together. We just wish it was a lot earlier than this.
Dancing With Her Recommended Vendor
Photography by Fox & Kin
