How I Met My Partner: Soulmates’ love at first sight is a story not to be sniffed at

FABRIZIO Vitali might have been forgiven for thinking a serious case of the sniffles had scuppered his chances at love.

His now partner Colleen Phillips recalled she had hastily exited his company, in spite of their undeniable chemistry, on the night they first met.

The pair, who co-own the East Cork glamping spot Inch Hideaway, had noticed each other at the Crane Lane in Cork before meeting again at a house party later that night.

Fabrizio, who hails from Italy, never believed someone so beautiful could fall for a person who resembled the “Michelin Man”. What he didn’t realise was that she had fallen madly in love with him before they even exchanged words.

“Fabrizio was wearing a hat,” Colleen recalled. “He seemed reserved but stood out. Later I was dancing and I remember seeing Fabrizio again and thinking ‘he seems fun’.”

Fabrizio’s recollection of events was somewhat different. “I had a really bad flu those days but I said to myself: ‘It’s the Langeros last gig, I’ve got to go, even if I’m feeling crap with the flu.’ So I put on my woolly jumper, beanie on the head, scarf, and loads of tissues for my snotty nose and watery eyes. Surely not a pretty sight!”

He never expected this would be the night he met the love of his life.

A rude awakening

“I get to the bar and as I’m waiting for my drink I see at the opposite end of the counter this very, very pretty lady with incredible curly blonde hair, the bluest eyes, and a wonderful smile, and guess what? I could see she had spotted me! I was chuffed with myself,” he said.

He subsequently experienced a rude awakening.

“I then saw the reflection of myself in the mirror behind the counter, wrapped up in a woolly hat and scarf, sniffly nose, red bulging eyes, as my sinuses were weeping uncontrollably,” he said.

“All I could think was, ‘even if I meet this gorgeous lady again all she’ll remember is this guy full of tissues, sneezing and coughing, wrapped up like the Michelin Man’.”

Luckily, Fabrizio didn’t need to wait and was relieved to bump into Colleen hours later.

“Later I went to a party where Fabrizio and I met again,” Colleen said. “He was living upstairs and had been dragged down to join the party. We didn’t stop talking all night. We spent five hours together and I drank five cups of tea before sunrise.”

Fabrizio admits he very nearly stayed home from the party.

“Los Langeros played an incredible gig. I hung out with some friends at the bar for a while and then left. I just needed to go to bed,” he said.

“As I got home I heard some music coming from my mate’s apartment on the ground floor. Phil stormed out his door and literally lifted me off the ground and brought me into his house party. He dropped me like a sack of potatoes onto the couch next to this very, very pretty lady with incredible curly blonde hair, the bluest eyes, and a wonderful smile.”

Instant chemistry 

A few days later, Fabrizio paid Colleen a visit.

“I went to visit her in the shop she was running in Castle St — Andina — to see if she would like to go on a date sometime. Her answer was “Mmmm, How about now?” She put up the ‘closed’ sign on the door, locked the shop. Off we went to Charlie’s Pub for a few drinks, basking in the sunshine. As we chatted our knees touched and it was like a thunderbolt going through my body. The chemistry was so unreal that I had a storm of butterflies in my stomach for the rest of the evening. The rest is history.”

Colleen instantly realised they would be spending the rest of their lives together.

“He invited me home for some food and I accepted. He asked me if I like red or white wine. Neither of us had any intention of ending the date.”

Fabrizio has some sage advice for anyone in search of their soulmate.

“You know you have met your soulmate when you’re excited every time you see each other, that you can be your true self without pretending to be anything else but you,” he said.

He is also urging people to be true to themselves.

“I believe that if you fall in love with each other it’s because you love the other person’s character, their personality, and their own individuality so don’t expect them to change to suit you, or even worse, become like your mother.

“You have to keep true to yourself and nurture that individuality that the other person has fallen in love with. The more you work on yourself to be the better and best version of yourself, the more your soulmate will be in love with you,” he said.