A single mum found her "soul mate" after leaving a lighthearted comment on a Facebook page.
Joanne Ashcroft from West Derby was feeling lonely during lockdown, when she decided to ask whether "someone would get her a drink in", on the Liverpool Virtual Pub Facebook page.
Within minutes of posting the message on April 3, the 47-year-old got a response from a man called Martin Davis, who asked what she was having.
The pair hit it off from there and after months of talking over Whatsapp they finally met up for the first time in August, when the lockdown restrictions were lifted.
On Saturday, September 26, Martin from Skelmersdale, asked Joanne to marry him in a restaurant on Albert Dock.
Joanne said their engagement just goes to show that "something good can come out of something bad."
Joanne told the ECHO: "It was literally just after lockdown started.
"You know when you're just starting to feel a bit down in the dumps with everything that's going on?
"One of my friends on Facebook invited me to join it. It's a virtual pub and of a weekend they have people singing from their own homes.
"I commented that I was on my way to the pub, would someone get me a drink in and he commented 'what are you having.'
"I commented back 'I'll have a double vodka' and he put back 'do you want ice? What (are) you having it with?"
"It just went from there backwards and forwards. Then he mentioned going for a drink when things go back to normal and we started private messaging on Whatsapp."
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Joanne met Martin for the first time in August, when they went for a day out in Southport together.
She said: "We just got on so well laughing and joking. Before we knew it it was 7 or 8 at night.
"I messaged him when I got home and said my cheeks were actually aching from smiling so much."
On Saturday, the couple went for a meal at What's Cooking on Albert Dock after putting a padlock on the waterfront.
Once they were inside the restaurant Martin popped the question by leaving a message in Joanne's online banking which read: "will you marry me?"
Joanne said: "We went in the restaurant and because you have to order everything via the app I scanned it, downloaded the app and I paid for it.
"He said 'I'll transfer you the money over' and he kept saying to me 'check that money has gone in.'
"I said 'I'm sure it's fine' but I checked and in the reference on my online banking it said 'will you marry me?'
"Then I looked up and he was holding a ring."
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Since sharing the news of their engagement in a post on the Liverpool Virtual Pub Facebook page, Joanne and Martin have received over 2000 comments and 4000 likes.
Joanne described Martin as her "soul mate" and said their chance encounter just goes to show that "something good can come out of something bad."
She said: "If it hadn't of been for the pandemic and lockdown and this virtual pub our paths wouldn't have crossed.
"We never would have met. It was fate.
"I think it just shows that sometimes good things can happen, even when there's bad things going on."
