No one ever forgets their first love.
Hand holding, stolen kisses and, in many cases, heartbreak when they're still teenagers.
And for Mary Baker, she was certain she had met her soulmate when she was still a schoolgirl.
She was just 15 when Royce Plyers moved to the small town of Bantry in West Cork, Ireland - and she was instantly smitten.
Mary explained: "One beautiful day a new guy moved to town with his family. He was tall and dark haired, with a cheeky smile and a lovely Welsh/English accent.
"His name was Royce Plyer and he was the same age as me. My friends and I took a shine to him immediately.
"I was attending school in Dublin at the time. So every time I came home at the weekend, we all hung out together and went out to the local discos.
"He never went out with any of the girls in our area, but not for want of them trying."
Heartbreakingly, Mary thought she wasn't good enough for Royce but was happy to be his friend.
Then, one night in June 1983, at the local disco, while they were dancing to David Bowie's Let's Dance, Royce asked Mary a question she would never forget.
She explained: "I was sitting and chatting with Royce when a song, that is now etched on my brain.
"Laughing and joking, Royce came closer and said, 'Mary? If I kiss you, would you hit me?'
"My reply? 'Why don’t you try it and find out?' So he did. In case you are wondering, no I didn’t hit him. I kissed him back."
Mary and Royce became a couple and their friends and family were delighted.
Mary said: "I had found a great guy who respected me, was kind, gentle, trust worthy, polite and heaps of fun. A really special guy."
For two years, the cople were very much in love but then fate dealt them a devastating blow.
Heartbroken, Royce had to tell Mary that his family were moving back to the UK - with just 24 hours notice.
He bought his childhood sweetheart a Claddagh ring, which is an old Irish wedding ring.
Mary said: "It signifies love, loyalty and friendship. I wore it around my neck on a long chain.
"We couldn’t bear to leave each other and made plans to be together when I had finished school."
The couple kept in touch as often as they could but this was in the days before mobile phones and the internet, so they were limited to letters and expensive landline calls.
Finally, they met up for a weekend in Manchester - it would be the last tie thet wiykd see each other for the next 32 years.
Both married other people, had children and seemed to be getting on with their lives apart - but neither forgot the other.
Mary said: "I used to tell my friends how I lost the love of my life and talked about him all the time.
"Royce was constantly watching Irish registered cars, on the off chance it was me inside or spotting people that looked similar to me on the street.
"But the years went by and we never bumped into each other. I went to other lengths and wrote to radio stations and newspapers to try to find him but alas no joy."
Finally, with the advent of Facebook , the pair had a chance to reconnect - and Mary went to incredible lengths to find her first love.
She said: "To my surprise, there were more Royce Plyers in the world than just mine.
"So they all got a message from me in the hope that one of them was the love of my life. And then silence … silence for two long years.
"On August 28, 2016, at exactly 11.36pm, as I returned to the sitting room, coffee in hand, I glanced at my phone on the table and saw a message that would change our lives forever."
Royce had finally replied with 'hi, sorry have only just seen this message (crap with technology). Yes I lived in Bantry and we went out together'.
Mary dropped her coffee in shock and instantly replied 'is that really you?'.
The messages carried on every day and Mary admitted it felt as if the couple had never been apart.
Mary said: "It emerged that neither of us had been happy for a long time and I was at the latter end of my divorce.
"We decided to meet each other again, that October I flew from Cork to Bristol, on an Aer Lingus flight where I had told one of the air hostesses my story.
"I was keen to look my best and needed to doll myself up. She allowed me to commandeer the bathroom.
"Unbeknownst to me, she primed the other passengers and on my exit all I heard was a chorus of The Rose of Tralee.
"I was so excited – I could not find my suitcase fast enough and get out to the arrivals hall.
"Meanwhile, as Royce waited, he could not understand why the passengers were all pointing and staring at him as they passed by."
Mary finally got through the airport and ran into Royce's arms.
They spent the next five days together, which she said confirmed the couple should be together.
Royce moved to Ireland the following November and the couple, both now 51, started their new life together.
But that was far from the end of their journey.
Mary said: "As we reconnected we discovered that we both had the same dream of living abroad.
"So we decided to buy a motor home and headed off around Europe for a year and a half to find our first home together.
"Having travelled to a number of countries and had an amazing adventure, we decided France was to become our new home.
"We bought a house in the Charente Maritime where, together with our dog Snuffy, our adventure continues."
Royce has recently proposed and Mary was only to happy to say yes. They plan to marry this summer.
- If you want to reconnect with someone special from your past call 020 3301 8577 or email longlostloves@walltowall.co.uk. All applicants must currently be single and 18 or over. All information will be treated as confidential.
