Our TikTok followers realised we were in love before we did

Ashleigh-Louise Adams, 28, is a freelance virtual assistant and business mentor from Southampton. Her partner Ryan Justice, 32, is a rail operative from Hampshire. They were just friends for several months before their TikTok followers insisted they seemed like the perfect match. Here, starting with Ashleigh-Louise, they share their unusual love story...

"Texting my friend after a wonderful date with a gorgeous man I typed: 'I’ve met this guy, he’s a dream.' We had been to a driving range, had a lovely walk in the park and even shared a kiss on a bench. Afterwards, we swapped Instagrams and said we’d stay in touch. But it was in the middle of 2020, the pandemic year, and with everything that was going on, we just seemed to lose touch and go our separate ways. Weirdly, three years on, I'd completely forgotten we'd even been on a date together.

In 2021, I moved to Cornwall and met a guy who I dated for a couple of years. Ryan met someone too and moved in with her. We both stopped following each other on Instagram as it didn’t seem right to stay in touch if we were with other people. But by last summer, we were both single again. For my part, none of my ex-boyfriends had been 'The One'. I wanted the relationship my parents had. They met at 15 and have been married for 30 years. They share the same values and sense of humour. I once posted a video of them laughing and dancing on my TikTok and it went completely viral. People could sense the love they have for each other.

Blast from the past

In September 2023, I joined a dating app again which is when Ryan spotted me again and got in touch. I remember thinking: 'Oh it’s that guy who used to like my posts on Instagram' but that was it. I honestly didn’t recall a thing about that first date and only believed we’d been on a date when I looked back on my text messages to see my old texts to my friend. This time Ryan and I exchanged a few messages and seemed to have so much to catch up on that I suggested we went for dinner.

He’d already mentioned that he was planning to go travelling for a long time so there was no point starting any kind of relationship. I simply thought he was a nice guy and perhaps we could be friends?

The dinner date was lovely. We chatted non-stop for three hours, getting kicked out at the end because the restaurant needed to close. It was as if I’d known him forever. After that, he would regularly come over to my house for a drink or a meal. He met my parents, and they got on with him really well. Sometimes we’d meet up just to chat. It felt so natural but – honestly – only like a friendship.

But not everyone was convinced. I have a TikTok following of 68,000 people and one day I posted a video of Ryan and I dancing around the kitchen. Apparently it annoyed some of the girls he’d been casually dating. And the comments from my followers were revealing: 'That is your man,' said one. 'The way he looks at you and your chemistry!' said another. Both Ryan and I were shocked. Neither of us felt anything more than friendship. We even talked to each other about the dates we were going on or the people we were seeing, to get a different perspective. It was like When Harry Met Sally.

A gradual realisation

But one day late last year I was at a wedding and I’d been chatting with a barman. I texted Ryan at one point saying: 'Shall I get this barman’s number?' He seemed very cool and had said he was going out for dinner with another girl but something must have clicked.

Next day, he arrived on my doorstep and had something to say. He told me that he was deleting all his dating apps, that he really did like me and could we see what happens next? Of course, it took me by surprise but why wouldn’t I say yes? Here was this gorgeous man, my best friend, telling me he wanted to be with me all the time. Not long afterwards, we announced that we were together on TikTok and everyone was thrilled! 'We knew it!' they said. It seems that everyone knew we were meant to be together, before even we did.

Ryan is so lovely. He supports me in everything I do. We’ve talked about moving in together and even having children one day. It feels like I’ve finally found 'The One'. And as for the long-haul trip that he’d planned to do – going to Singapore, Bali, Thailand and Australia. I’m packing my bags and going with him."

Ryan says:

"Little did I know when I planned this trip that I’d be going with the love of my life. I’d been determined to do this on my own, to challenge myself and be brave but now that it’s come down to it, I’m actually really pleased that Ashleigh will be by my side. It’s going to be an adventure.

It is really odd that she literally doesn’t remember a thing about our first date because I remember everything about it. I can’t have made much of an impression but she did with me! She is obviously very attractive and really bubbly. I felt so content around her, a feeling that I’ve never felt around other women. Even now, we say we wish we’d made more of an effort to stay in touch because we could have had another three years of time together. But fate had other ideas.

Friendship chemistry

When I saw her again on the dating app last year, I was really surprised. I was under the impression – after following her on social media previously – that she’d been in a really happy relationship. But social media doesn’t always reflect what’s happening in real life and when I messaged her to say hi, it turned out that she’d split with her partner.

We had that dinner together and I felt the same feeling of contentment I’d felt on that first date. But as I was going away on the long trip, we both made a sort of silent agreement that this was just a friendship. Besides, it was really nice to have a friend of the opposite sex, someone I could confide in about relationships. And I didn’t want to lead her on. We talked about her visiting me when I was abroad, but that was it.

Taking the plunge

Until I got that text about the barman. Something changed that instant and I felt like: 'Oh, if I don’t say something now, I may lose this girl. I may lose that closeness and that feeling of contentment.' We’d already had so many good times as friends and I really didn’t want to lose her to anyone else.

So I took the plunge and next day admitted my feelings. It was a risk but I had to take that chance. Thankfully she said yes and we’ve been together ever since. She makes me so happy.

It seems that we’ve also got a TikTok audience rooting for us too. I remember saying to her that if she got a million views for that dancing video then I’d marry her and she keeps sending me screenshots as the number of views goes up. So we’ll have to see! Whatever happens, I know I’m going to be with her for life because I’ve found my soulmate."

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