How I Met My Partner: 'She would be giving me daggers', but Dawn and Dale are now inseparable

Gogglebox Ireland stars Dawn and Dale met in college fourteen years ago, and stressed that it wasn’t love at first sight for the two of them.

Dawn told The Echo, “we met in college in 2010, many moons ago, we were on the same course in CIT, now MTU.

“We didn’t hit it off straight away, we were polar opposites, but at this stage we’ve morphed into each other!

She explained, “I was very much a country girl, no fashion about me whatsoever and Dale was from the city.” 

Dale added, “she would be giving me daggers, I’m quite loud and she was thinking ‘shut up’, but we got talking and realised we had the same sarcastic sense of humour, and we started getting on really well, then one thing led to another.” 

Dawn explained, “neither of us would have had girlfriends in the past, but we started dating in college of first year and it’s 2024 now – in gay years that’s a good 40-50 years.” 

Dale said that Dawn made the first move, explaining “I was minding my own business and she went in for the kill, went in for a kiss - I’m still thankful that she did.” 

“We were out for Paddy’s day,” Dawn explained, “we were in a gay bar, but we went there just because – at the time we didn’t think we were gay.

“We ended up dating for a while and didn’t tell a lot of people at the time, it was new to us both so a bit of a struggle, but eventually we told our close friends, then our siblings and then our parents.” 

Dawn proposed to Dale in 2019, while they were on a weekend away in Connemara, explaining “I had the ring, and I’d never been so nervous – usually I fall asleep the first ten minutes in the car like a toddler but I was wide awake the entire time.

“We arrived at this little hotel and I basically forced her to go into the bathroom so I could get the ring in my pocket then we went for a stroll and found a little bench overlooking the beach.

Dale said yes, and Dawn recalled, “it was difficult being a female proposing – when you’re younger you picture a man proposing to you but for two women there’s a lot of emotions involved.” 

They booked their wedding venue two weeks before lockdown, and married in 2021, just when the restrictions had been eased to allow 100 guests, and she said “it didn’t feel like a Covid wedding.” 

They married in October 2021 in Vienna woods, with their guest list cut in half, but the couple say that this meant that everyone that attended is someone they were close to, adding “we talked to everyone, we danced with everyone!” 

Nowadays, Dale says their life is simple, explaining “we’re becoming fans of the gym, because we’re really big fans of food so we have to cancel it out somehow.

“My darling Dawnie is like a little Gordon Ramsey, she opens the fridge and even with ingredients that don’t make sense together she’d be able to whip up something amazing.

They live in Carrigaline and enjoy going on walks in the area and are always on the go, spending time with family and their big group of friends every weekend.

Dawn added, “we were both very lucky with our families, we got no negativity when we came out – we told them at different stages but thankfully it all worked out, and they get on very well – at our wedding it was like not two families but one.

“If I go home my mum will immediately ask where’s Dale,” she said, with Dale adding “I close the door behind me and my mom rushes to open it for Dawn!”