London: A British man and his Spanish
former sweetheart have finally married 16 years after they
drifted apart, reunited by a love letter lost behind a
fireplace for over a decade, reports said today.
Steve Smith and Carmen Ruiz-Perez, both now 42, fell in
love 17 years ago when she was a foreign exchange student in
Brixham, southwest England, and got engaged after only a year
together.
But their relationship ended after she moved France to
run a shop in Paris.
A few years later, in a bid to rekindle their love, Smith
sent a letter to her mother`s home in Spain. It was placed on
the mantelpiece, but slipped down behind the fireplace and was
lost for over a decade.
The missing missive was only found when builders removed
the fireplace during renovation work.
"When I got the letter I didn`t phone Steve right away
because I was so nervous," Ruiz-Perez told the Herald Express
local newspaper.
"I nearly didn`t phone him at all. I kept picking up the
phone then putting it down again.
"But I knew I had to make the call."
When they were reunited, it was as if time had stood
still, said Smith, a factory supervisor.
Buerau Report
