A Coleraine woman who got stuck at her English boyfriend's place when the Prime Minister announced the first coronavirus lockdown has decided to make the move permanent.
Lauren Arris Cartwright had flown from Northern Ireland to visit boyfriend Dan in Bolton in March 2020, having got together at a wedding just three months earlier.
On this, their fourth meet-up, the 27-year-old had planned to stay for the weekend, with only a small bag of essentials for the trip.
But as the first lockdown was announced, her flight was cancelled - and suddenly the pair realised Lauren wouldn't be able to return to the North Coast anytime soon.
"It was really hard at first," Lauren admitted.
"When driving to the airport on the Friday, my dad jokingly said 'you better come back on Monday', reports the MEN.
"All I had with me was just a few bits of clothing, makeup and my toothbrush – it really wasn’t ideal!"
Before the visit, Lauren had only visited Bolton once, but as flights kept getting cancelled, she came to love it.
"It's very very different to back home but I think I've fitted in very nicely.
"I'm used to beaches, not a lot of traffic, not a lot of public transport. Even things like the shops and the pace of living are very different over here. It's much quicker.
"I used to be an air hostess though so I'm used to a crazy life and I prefer it over here."
Lauren had also been furloughed from her job at Topshop and as the shop prepared to reopen in July, she had to make a decision.
"They told me they were opening the doors again," Lauren remembered.
"I had a chat with Dan but we just agreed that I was really happy here so I just decided to stay."
After getting the boat back over to Northern Ireland in July, to pack up all her stuff, Lauren returned to her new life in Bolton and in September, she started a job at AO in Horwich where she still works as part of the customer service team.
Now Lauren and Dan are set to move out of Dan's flat at The Valley, into their own home in Eagley.
She added: "It's a really cute wee cottage. I'm sick of living in this flat now so we thought we'd get something bigger.
"The team at AO have been so supportive as well, from welcoming me to the business and Bolton but also, in giving me the opportunity to develop my career so quickly and helping me progress in just the short six-months I’ve been there."
