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When Paul met Liz

When people ask how Paul met Liz, he says he found her on Trade Me.

"I was new to the country, just arrived from the UK and didn't know anyone outside of the colleagues at my new job," says Paul. "I'd never been on a dating site before but thought it was a much better way to meet a potential partner than standing in a bar talking loudly with an English accent. Went out on one date with a bit of an oddball and then up popped a smile from Mrs Right. So second date and I'd met the future mother of my child! Three years later and we've got a baby girl called Rosa who has made both our lives complete. I think my partner, Liz had been out with a few different guys that hadn't panned out before me and I was going to be her last roll of the dice. So I suppose there are two morals to the story. Firstly, from my angle you can fulfil the dream in double quick time and from Liz's point of view - never give up," he says.

Paul was travelling around the country with work so there was "lots of emailing and then some Facebook stalking" before they met. "It took a while to meet up but when we did we hit it off straight away. She did the safe thing by meeting me for a quick drink with the plan being she'd be meeting up with friends to watch England playing the All Blacks after our date. If I'd turned out to have a pink afro and bad shoes she would've made her excuses and gone off to meet her friends. As it was I wooed her with my dry wit and striking good looks and I got invited along for the rest of the evening. The friends liked me too and hey presto, feet under the table." he says.

Three years on, the couple have bought a house together and eight months ago Rosa came into the world. "Totally changed our lives. Amazing." says Paul.

He says he was really open about using a dating site. "I didn't want it to be my dirty little secret, so I made a big deal about telling friends and family. Even now when people ask me how we met I say I got her off Trade Me. On our first date one of the main questions I wanted answered from her was why she was on a dating site. I had an excuse after all, I was new to the country. But what was wrong with her, why couldn't she find a fella? Man drought apparently, nothing wrong with her. I was happy to oblige."
Paul says he wasn't "finding someone" long enough to have formulated any plan of attack so "I suppose the only important thing was to be honest about myself and sincere to others."
From Liz's point of view she always enjoyed meeting new people and having the opportunity to find out about other peoples lives. "Also, I found it great fun logging in and getting smiles and messages," says Paul. "The back and forth with interesting people. So my advice is enjoy it, people are (generally) great.
Liz's biggest tip? "Get out and meet the people rather than spending a lot of time just emailing."

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