It was during a family holiday to Egypt in 2016 that Julia Clark's life changed forever. The married mum-of-three was sitting by the poolside while her family played in the water, pondering why she felt so isolated. "Despite the fun times and beautiful photos, I felt a sense of loneliness," the 53-year-old from Lincoln told "My relationship seemed to have lost its spark.
I'd been wedded to Peter for 15 years. He was a wonderful man, an excellent father to our children James, now 34, Melissa, 21, and Amelia, 18, and a good provider, but it felt like we were just there for the kids. "It was during that 2016 holiday that my life took a turn.
As I sat watching my family, a hotel employee came over and asked for my name. He wanted to know how I was doing and if I was on Facebook. I gave him my name and introduced him to Peter, who had just got out of the pool.
I didn't think much of it until we returned home." After a few days back home, Julia got a friend request from the bloke she'd met at the poolside and started liking his posts, including ones featuring his mates. "That's when Ahmed first caught my eye.
He must've noticed me interacting with the posts and sent me a friend request," she said. "For some reason, I accepted." Days passed without a peep from him, not even a simple greeting.
Then out of the blue, he messaged her saying: "Hi. How are you? " They began chatting in October 2016, mostly about Julia's life and family. "I shared with him that my mum had recently suffered.