Secret Mum Club with Sophiena - The Love Story Bonanza

Episode Date: June 25, 2026

Sophiena and Emma requested your love stories - and you delivered! From MySpace rekindlings to sneaky restaurant reservation reunions the stories of how you met your person has got the ladies right in their feels.Emma Spring Bank Holiday Sale is live! Get up to 25% off plus extra 5% using the code SECRETSLEEP at Emma Sleep.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Safina and Emmett will be here in just a moment. And if you love a good laugh at those times parenting doesn't quite go to plan, then we've got the perfect next listen for you, The Teen Commandments. Sarah Cox and Claire Hamilton look back at their own brilliantly chaotic teenagers while trying to make sense of parenting teenagers today. Along the way, they cover everything from the jazzles and floor drobes to famous snogs, fanny farts, and all the wonderfully awkward stuff in between. Search for the Teen Commandments and get the show lined up to play next.

Hello, this is The Secret Mum Club. I'm Safina. And I'm Emma. And welcome to your Thursday's episode. Where we get to squeeze in all the extra bits and bobs from the week. Squeeze your bits. Oh, I went. All of your comments, sorts, questions and fun stories. To keep you going through the weekend.

Show a jumponin. Honey's, we're doing things a little differently. Because we've asked you for dating stories and you have delivered. I'm so... Maz told us about this one this morning. I've been so fucking excited. Mas was like, do you want to do a whole episode of dating stories? And we were like, yes, yes, we absolutely do.

Option B was to drag it out. No, we want all of it. All of it. And we're going to deliver all of it to you in one lump sum. Yes. Okay. Are you ready? Yes.

All right. This one comes from Joe in Stoke. And it says, hi girls. After listening to your recent episode about, how people met their partners, I thought I'd share my own, it must be fate, story. Back in 2017, I was offered a job as a chef. I nearly didn't take it, but I thought, why not? A few months after starting, I heard a song by a new band I loved playing down the corridor. I remember thinking, who else knows who these are? When I went to investigate, there he was, the man I would eventually

spend the rest of my life with. As we got to know each other, we realised we'd been at loads of the same events over the years, but had somehow never crossed paths. Three years later, he proposed with a beautiful emerald engagement ring. We got married in Sorrento, Italy. Oh, and nine months later, our gorgeous daughter Giovanna arrived. She was born in May 24 and her birthstone is Emerald. Her engagement ring! Yeah. Sometimes I look back and think, what if I'd never taken that job? So if anyone is ever unsure about taking an opportunity, I'd say, go for it. You never know what the future has in store. Thank you both for keeping me saying through the chaos of motherhood, love Joe from Stoke. I think she married an Italian man then.

Joe, I cannot even cope with this. He proposed in an engagement ring that is an emerald. And then her baby was born and her birthstone is an emerald. I know. What the fuck in hell? Can you imagine? It doesn't even bear thinking about the fact that if you hadn't taken that job, where your life would have been.

I love these like, what's it called? Like sliding doors moments where like you had to be in that place at that time to meet that person. Yeah. But they've already been to so many places at the same time. And never crossed theards. Do you think he's Italian? Yes, because they got married in Italy and their daughter's called Giovanna. So I'm just putting two and two together.

And I may be getting five, but that's what I think. Oh, gosh. That is absolutely just warmed my belly and my heart. That is adorable, isn't it? That is so cute. What a way to kick it off. Joe, that was an absolute, an absolute corker. Yeah, a stunner.

Stuner, honey. 10, highly recommend. Okay, ready for another one? Yes. This says, hi, Sophen, Emma. My husband and I first met in middle school in the States. We were on and off boyfriend and girlfriend for a couple of years before he moved away to live with his dad. After that, we completely lost touch.

That was until my space came along. We reconnected, stayed in touch for a while and even attempted long distance dating a few times. But eventually life got in the way and we drifted apart again. Over the next few years, we both went through a lot. I got married and divorced while he spent some difficult years finding his way. Eventually, we found each other again and we've been inseparable ever since. Next week we'll celebrate our 11th wedding anniversary and together we have beautiful 10-year-old twin boys. I genuinely can't imagine my life without him.

He's my soulmate and always has been. Love you both, Taylor from Mississippi. I don't think I can cope. I'm going to cry. Jokes on you. I planned on crying today. So obviously I plan on crying every day. That is fucking adorable.

Okay. So they went to middle school together. What age is that? Yes. I don't know because it's in the States, isn't it? So I'm going to say they were young, though. They're quite young, yeah. Yes.

Oh my gosh. And then they hooked up here on MySpace. They got divorced. Wait, they found each other on MySpace and stayed in touch. Yeah. So they would have gone through school and then leaving school, they found each other on MySpace, reconnected, stayed in touch, and even attempted a long distance dating a few times. Oh.

And it didn't work out. In the intervening years, she got married and divorced. Yes. He found his way. He found his way. And do you know what? Again, was he struggling to find his way? Because actually, he was meant to be with Taylor.

I know. And that's where his life was going. Also, it just says eventually we found each other again. What happened? How did you find each other again? Because you were attempting a long distance relationship. So they obviously didn't live in the same place. No, different states.

So how did you find each other again? That's what I need to know. Was it on Facebook now? Not MySpace. Was it Facebook or Instagram? Yeah, the apps of TikTok. Yeah, the apps of the apps have grown. Taylor, tell us more.

And 10-year-old twin boys. Oh my gosh. They got married and a year later they had twins. Yes. Wow. Oh, that's an absolute. Again, 10-10. That's delicious.

See, I don't really believe in soulmates, but like, do you think, I don't know. Some people just meant to be together. I just think, do you know what? I want to say I don't believe in soulmates, but I do believe in soulmates because I feel like you're, you create a bond with somebody and then you become soulmates. Do you know what I mean? But I think like some meetings are so random. Like I think this about me and Stefan quite a lot. Like we both had to choose to go to Cardiff University.

We both did hobbies or joined social clubs where our piles were going to cross. So I did cheerleading. He did American football. But if we hadn't picked those teams or those sports, we probably wouldn't have met on that night out because it was a night out for those two teams. Yeah. So like if I didn't go to that uni,

if I didn't do that club and he didn't do that club, then we would never have met. And obviously there's thousands of people at the university. He could have met someone else and I could have met someone else. And this is so unromantic, but we often say to each other, like, we probably could have been happier with other people. Like I think I could have met someone else.

else and had a good relationship and he could have met someone else and had a good relationship but we just happened to meet each other. I don't necessarily think we're like, believe in soulmates. Does that sound really bad to say? But people like this, like, they went off and did a lot of other stuff in their lives and then they found their way back to each other for a reason. Do you know what I mean? Like it's meant to be like that is your person. Yeah. And obviously America is so much bigger, isn't it? Yeah. So to have like cross states as well. I just find it wild. Like I always say to Chris, you know, there's

that one Thursday night that we just met in the pub, but we'd been in the same pub multiple times for multiple years. We had similar friends. I also was, my best friend growing up, also went to school with Chris, was even at the same house parties,

New Year's Eve events. Every event, we were there together, yet not at one point. Did we ever talk or see each other or clock eyes or, Anything. Do you think you were destined to be together then? Because your paths kept crossing. They passed kept crossing, but we didn't know. I don't know. See, I don't know. There's got to be, there's got to be something there. There's got to be something like soulmates or your person, you know?

Fate. Fate. Yeah. Who knows. I love it, though, don't you? I really love love. I do. I love that, Taylor. That really got me. That did. That's a good. That's a good end. 10-10. Yeah, that's a good fan. That was a really great one. So thank you so much for your messages. If you have any comments, thoughts or funny stories, why not get in touch? You can email us hello at secretmanpod.com or with SecretMumPod on TikTok and Instagram.

I won't keep you waiting too long. We're going to have more love stories after this break. Welcome back. Are you ready for some more loves in the air? Let's get it. Let's get it on. Okay, ready? Emma went sexy. I went cutesy buttoots. I went deep.

Itchy legs. Okay. This comes from Lucy from Devon. Hello Lucy. She says, hi, Sophan Emma. Back in secondary school, I had the biggest crush on a boy. We never spoke, and he had absolutely no idea I liked him. Then one day, he just stopped coming to school and disappeared completely. I didn't have social media back then, so I had no way of finding him. Even so, I thought about him all the time and always hoped I'd see him again. As dramatic as it sounds, even at 13, he felt. like the one. What? What? Fast forward six years and I was working in a pub when I spotted his surname on the bookings list. I thought, surely not. Can't be. I immediately ran to the bathroom, redid my hair and made a bit of an effort just in case. A few hours later, a large family group

arrived and there he was. I was so nervous and excited. He was there with his siblings and their partners, but he was on his own. My first thought was, he's single. We didn't speak that evening, but we kept catching each other's eye and smiling. The second I got home, I found him on Instagram and added him. He accepted within seconds. We started chatting and he told me he'd hated school so much that he'd moved away without telling anyone. A few days later, he asked me on a date and what started as a rainy February walk on the beach turned into the life we have today. Stop it, I'm going to cry.

I can't cope. I really cannot cope. We've now been together for four and a half years, recently bought our first home together and are hoping to start a family in the next couple of years. I think it just goes to show that if something is meant to be, it will find its way back to you. That one gave me goosebumps. Lucy, I can't even cope. Also, have you told him about your time at school and that you've liked him since he was 13? Yes, I hope so.

I hope so. Oh, my God, that has really got me in the... In the fields. In the fields. That is adorable. I wonder if she had other relationships in between that she was just like, nah, it's not the one. Also, being 13, that's it. That's my man.

She knew. That's going to be my man forever. She knew. And there he was in the pub. Thank God he had an unusual surname because if I made a book and they'd be like Jones, another one. Smith. Jesus. They never find me.

I also can't believe that he was, imagine the little excitedness in your belly. He's on his own. His siblings are with their brightness and he's a single man. He's single. And then how exciting when you go home later that night. I've added him. He's accepted. straight away. Within seconds. Now he's asking me out on a date. Oh my God. The early messaging

of a relationship is just like unmatched. It's crack. It's honestly crack. It's so exciting. So addictive. Yeah. So addictive. Oh. Yeah. That's what that's, it's just really filling up my cup, guys. Is it filling up yours? I'm just low, I can't honestly, my, my face is hurting from smiling. Smiling. It's making me so happy. Right. Let's fucking have another one. Let's have another one. I feel like Davina McCall with Big Brother. Do you want another one? Yay! All right. It says, Hello, ladies. I've known my now husband, nearly my whole life. I've been best friends with his sister since we were around two. He's also best friends with my older brother. He was always just the older brother of my best friend until I developed a bit of a crush on him in senior school.

When I was around 17, I plucked up the courage to tell him I liked him. He told me he didn't feel the same way, which became very awkward when we would see each other in passing. However, two months later, after a few messages back and forth, he surprised me out of the blue and asked me on a date to the cinema. I was so nervous as it had never been just us two on our own. I'm pretty sure we only spoke about ten words to each other the whole time. Fast forward to 13 years later, and we're now happily married and have a two-year-old daughter. Love the pod, Christina from Southampton. Christina!

You were probably having dates in the cinema at the same time. You're my home girl. Oh my gosh Oh my What changed Actually Christina What changed his mind in two months That's what I need to know

Maybe he did Maybe he did But he was like too Being respectful Yeah Maybe he was too afraid to say And then after a couple of months He thought no I really do like her

I'm gonna go for it Oh my gosh Christina That's absolutely divine Isn't it? I love the like Because that's such a thing From like

Seems like a thing From a movie Like going out with the older brother how exciting. Yes. It really is exciting, isn't it? I don't know what I was going to say then. I was just totally into the story.

I thought you were going to be like, no, it's weird. No, no, I think it's, I think it's cute. It's something you would see in a movie. I was going to say, is it sometimes a horror movie? I don't really want to think of it from that aspect. I'm thinking of like an American rom-com where like, you've known the boy your whole life and he's never been anything. But then suddenly it turns into something and you're like, It's like Ross and Chandler are in friends, isn't it?

Yeah. They're friends. And then he starts dating Monica. And then it's on the sly, isn't it? Is it weird for the sibling, do you think? I don't know. Because your best friend becomes your sister-in-law, but also you know that she's sleeping with your brother. Double-weary, iconic.

I don't think she thinks of that aspect. Oh, no. Everyone thinks of that aspect, surely. Well, I went to school with Amy and I didn't go. Holy smokes. But I went to school with Amy. I knew Amy. Because obviously Amy and Richie, my brother and my sister-in-law, they are school sweethearts.

Are they? Yeah, we went to secondary school together. And they had some time away from each other and then they came back together. And now they're married and they've been together, you know, 12 years. Yeah, you knew her, but it's not like she wasn't your bestie. If your bestie came to you and was like, I really fancy Richie. Oh, God, she sees his Willie. Well, no, no, no.

If you were like, if your best friend when you were 17 had gone, I want to go out with your brother, I fancy him. Do you think he'd be like, oh, it's a bit weird? Christina, I'm sorry Emma just took all of the light away from this. You could think that. I do love it. I do love it. But I just, if it was like my, I can't think of the same equivalent because I don't have brothers. But like if it was my brother and my best friend, I'd be a bit like, oh, okay, sure.

See my brother's Willie. This is it now. This is it now. But imagine, though, I bet there. there was an element of worry at the start as to it being, don't want to damage your friendship. Exactly. Or than the brothers' friendships.

It's high stakes going out with the best friend's brother. It is. It's really high stakes. Christina knew, though. She knew. She delivered and she, look at them now. Look at them now. Right.

Let's take another one. Okay. One more story. It says, Hello, Sofen Emma. Back in the summer of 2019, I was out in town with my baby son, Luca,

when I came across a man's wallet. It had everything in it, cash, bank cards, ID. Wanting to return it, I used the ID to find him on Facebook and sent him a message to let him know I'd found his wallet. We arranged to meet in town so I could hand it back. When we met, he tried his luck and asked if he could take me out for a drink to say thank you. I politely turned him down, telling him I was happily taken and not interested. Fast forward to December 2019 and life looked very different. Okay, so this is only a few months later.

This all happened in the same year. Yes. My son's dad broke up with me on Christmas Eve, which at the time felt like the worst thing that could have happened. A couple of weeks later, one of my friends was scrolling through Tinder and came across my ex's profile. She convinced me to download the app too. At first, it was all just a bit of fun and I wasn't taking it seriously at all. Then I got a super like. What's a super like?

I have no idea. Oh, we don't know about all these apps and things. We don't know about the dating apps. I guess it's like more than just a swipe right, like someone really likes it. It's a super like. I super like you. I super like you. It was the man whose wallet I'd found.

Stop it. We matched, started talking and instantly clicked. We got through lockdown, eventually moved in together, and he took Luca in as his own. The two of them absolutely adore each other. Since then, we've welcomed a little boy, Freddie, who's now two years old, and we're currently planning our wedding. Looking back, finding that wallet completely changed the course of my life. What started with a good deed turned into meeting the love of my life. We like to call it our modern day Romeo and Juliet story.

Thank you for keeping me entertained during my evening shifts. Love Abby from Essex. Abby, I just, one, I just can't deal with the fucking cuteness of the fact that you've not only found this man's wallet, but you have looked him up on Facebook to find, to just, can we just restore our faith in humans? Because our girl here is just holding it for all of us. Abby's just holding it in the fact that she is not only found a wallet, is of a man's. She's arranged to meet this man. I know.

At that point, I was like alarm bells. I would not be meeting up in person with a man that I'd never met. Never met. To hand back his wallet. It could have been a murderer. But how fucking sweetened she did that. But now it's going to be your husband. What?

Can you imagine telling the boys on how you met? Isn't that unbelievable? Like, shitty fucking ex. They broke up with your Christmas Eve. And I bet now you're like, two fingers up yours, mate. Up yours. You're silly boys. Sorry.

Sorry, that was aggressive. We didn't mean to be that aggressive. But that was dickish on Christmas Eve. Especially when you're, it's your baby mum and your baby boy as well. When you've got kids and you're doing that before Christmas, what kind of a flunker. But now, oh, this is wonderful. This is a really lovely story. Can we also get some clarity on a super like?

Yeah. Or super like on Tinder. I guess it just means someone really likes you. But how amazing that you found each other again. I mean, I guess Tinder's all about geography, isn't it? So they knew they lived in the story. same area. Yeah. But just how mad that they, not only did they find each other again, but they met up, hit it off, they've had a baby together and now they're getting married.

Now they're getting married. They're planning their wedding, all because she found his wallet. And that all happened in the space of like a few months. So tell me, tell me there isn't something there. Tell me there isn't something. That's what I mean. I'm talking, when I'm saying like soulmates and fate, like I don't believe in it for me, but does it exist? Because some of these stories, is a wild. They're phenomenal. They're truly 10-10, highly recommend. Couldn't even pick my favourite this week.

I loved them so much. So much. Oh, honestly, I'm leaving on a high. And if anybody is still looking for love or out there, I hope this restores your faith. Because I know when you're single and you're having a time of not being able to meet somebody or having a shit time with partners or knowing whether to leave a relationship, if it's not serving you or there's a lot. lot around having a relationship and I really hope that it does restore

people's faith in finding a partner because it truly can be from absolutely anything and if anything out of this if you do stumble across somebody or find someone and it doesn't work out I hope that it's a wonderful story to fill your memories and you know have to tell on to other people you know throughout life I just think, I always believe that everything that happens is always a memory in life. I always say to the children, whether it's good or bad, we learn from it and we grow, but it's, it's core memories. It's what helps us grow and it helps us be the people we are today. There's things that have happened in my life that could have been a fight or flight, but rather than looking at them as a negative,

I try and change it to the positive and know that I wouldn't be who I am today without all my baggage, you know? I really just, I just feel like this is, everybody needs a good love story. to show a little bit of faith in finding love. Yeah. Have you got a love story to share? Then let us know. Yes, I'd love to hear more. Can this just be a dating podcast now?

Please. The email is hello at secret mumpod.com and we're Secret Mumpod on TikTok and Instagram. And we'll be back first thing on Tuesday. We'll have more of your messages on our next Thursday episode. And we'll see you next time on the Secret Month Club.