An 85-year-old woman recommends a dating site after finding new love later in life

The lovebird couple in their 80s tied the knot after falling for each other on an internet dating site.

Tricia Shaw, 85, said she quickly became smitten with Ian, 82, when she met him online. The former cosmetics manager and private detective approached Ian, the pilot, who agreed to meet after sensing there was “something” in him.

And Tricia, who previously met four potential suitors online, said she was “wobbly at the knees” when she met her partner in Formby. The couple, who are now together, tied the knot in February after Ian was diagnosed with a heart condition and needed risky bypass surgery.

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Tricia now thinks more people in their 80s should be taking up online dating after the couple enjoyed a magical wedding in front of 115 guests. She said: “I really recommend online dating because you have so many boxes to tick before you meet. You can tell that you have a lot in common.

“The wedding was the most magical time of my life. Everything was in place and I could never have imagined anything so wonderful.”

Ian added: “It certainly worked for us. So I definitely suggest people try it and I’m happy to recommend it. Tricia said it was love at first sight. He fell in love with her right away, and I liked him from the start. The wedding meant everything to me.”

Great-grandmother-of-five Tricia, from Lytham St Annes, Lancashire, came across Ian’s profile after visiting dating platform Plenty More Fish seven years ago. After losing her previous husband 33 years ago, she joined the site and met a few men before messaging the retired optometrist from Glasgow.

The affair began when Ian, who had previously been married for 35 years, ignored her first text, which came at the start of a seven-day walking holiday. But he was intrigued when Tricia sent another message asking him to get in touch.

Ian said: “The message came just as I was getting on the train and I thought, ‘Well, it’s going to stay like this until I get home. But later I got a text from Tricia saying “I can’t believe you haven’t been in touch”. And I thought, “That’s the one thing about him.”

The couple first met at Formby Hall Golf Resort on October 5, 2015, where Tricia met other potential matches she had seen while dating online. And as she struck up a conversation with Ian over a fish and chip dinner, Tricia said she was smitten.

She said: “My legs were shaking when I first met Ian. I had met four other gentlemen before, always at Formby Hall, to make sure I was safe, so they knew what was going on.”

The loved-up couple moved in together 14 months later and planned to tie the knot at some point in the future. But when Ian received the news that he would need heart bypass surgery, they decided to go ahead with their wedding, which eventually took place on February 10 this year.

Ian said: “It was one of those classic things where we were both in good health and we both thought, ‘Well, we’re going to get married sooner or later’. But on December 11, it was determined that I needed heart bypass surgery. That changed the timing a little bit.”

Tricia added: “Ian wanted to get married 29 days after he proposed but with Christmas and New Year we couldn’t find a registrar so we had to postpone it.”

More than a hundred friends and family attended the wedding, where Tricia was presented by her son Timothy and grandson Henry. Ian said: “It started as a family. Then after I had the surgery, we had a big gathering and it turned into a big wedding.

“I don’t have a family, but Tricia has a huge family. They all came and lots of friends. In the end there were 115.”

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