ANYONE who claims that love stories aren’t what they used to be has yet to meet Cork couple Chris and Janet Keating.

After becoming disillusioned from several years in the dating game, neither of them ever imagined true love was around the corner.

Fast forward a couple of years and the pair are just as loved up as the day they met.

It was the support of a young colleague that helped Chris back on the path to love after he had all but given up on the dream.

“A young colleague got me on to Tinder,” he explained. “There was just a few photos of me and I didn’t even have a bio up but I decided to give it a go anyway. I didn’t match with anyone at first. A lot of profiles looked the same. 

"Every woman I came across seemed to be saying they enjoyed walks on the beach. Then I saw Janet’s photograph. I thought she was stunning and couldn’t believe it when we matched.” 

Janet had decided to take a chance on Tinder while visiting her son in Canada.

“I could see from Tinder that Janet was around 6000 kilometres away.” 

Chris managed to make Janet laugh from the first moment they exchanged words.

“My opening line was “where the hell are you?” 

Chris said he was impressed to discover that Janet was not only beautiful but intelligent too.

“There was no computer speak with Janet. Her punctuation was perfect and her full stops and commas were all in the right places. That was something about her that really impressed me.” Janet, who has a company specialising in tanning and eyelash extensions, recalled their instant connection.

“For that whole week we chatted all the time.I couldn’t wait to meet Chris because everything about him was so great I wanted to be sure he really was “normal”, she laughed. “After a while chatting we moved from Tinder to Facebook messenger. I really liked him, so much so that I met up with him a day after arriving home from Canada. We decided to meet in the Cornstore. There was this lovely young guy serving me before Chris walked in the door.”

Back then Janet never guessed the young man in question would turn out to be Chris’s son. 

Chris explained: “Janet was so beautiful that I just forgot everything, including that my son worked in the Cornstore.” She recounted how it was difficult to get “a word in edgeways,” something Chris insists he had good reason for.

“There was a reason I spoke so much on the date,” he admitted. 

“It was because I wanted that night to last as long as possible. Janet was so stunning and nice to be around that I wanted to keep her there forever.” 

Janet said she received a text from Chris just seconds after he walked her to her car. He kept it brief with just one word - ‘Wow!’

Unfortunately, it initially looked as if romance was off the cards for both Chris and Janet.

“I explained that due to life circumstances I wasn’t ready for anything,” Janet said.

Luckily, Chris, who works in hospitality, was understanding of the situation.

“I told her that I had been there myself and I was there for her if she needed to chat.” 

Janet was secretly thrilled when, two weeks later, he followed up with another message.

“He checked in with me to see how I was and I was thrilled that he did,” Janet beamed.

Chris was happy to take things slow.

“We were there for each other and helping each other. It was more like a companionship at the beginning,” Janet said.

The Cork man explained that he was willing to wait as long as it took to win over Janet.

“Janet and I were in our fifties so we didn’t want to be acting like teenagers. I really wanted it to work.” Janet and Chris eventually made the transition to romantic partners but waited a year before going public.

The pair made a pact never to get married but radically changed their attitudes as the relationship developed. 

The mother of one recalled: “We were eating out in the Hawthorne when we both decided that marriage wasn’t for us. We even made a toast and clinked our glasses.” However, Janet was bowled over to receive the surprise of her life while holidaying with Chris in France.

“We went to Paris and I gave her a ruby ring I had bought in Victoria’s Antiques. I thought at the time that I would need to get it resized but it fit her ring finger perfectly.” 

Janet’s reaction was exactly what Chris had hoped for.

“I asked him ‘do you remember what I said to you in the Hawthorne?...well, I’ve changed my mind’.” Janet and Chris subsequently eloped to Greece to seal the deal.

“We didn’t tell a soul. I knew if we told one person we would have to tell everybody so it was better to keep it quiet.” Chris said he remains extremely grateful to the colleague who brought them together.

“When I saw her I threw my arms around her and told her that she was the reason I was now married.” Chris and Janet are enjoying married life five years after exchanging vows.

Chris said: “I love how Janet is always dressed up and beautiful even If she is just going out to the shop. She never fails to surprise me.”