How I met my partner: Picture perfect romance started off with ‘tickles and ice-cream’

Following her return to Ireland after two years in New Zealand, Chani Anderson, who originates from Tipperary, told The Echo that she was in the midst of adopting a child, Kai (23), who was seven years old at the time, when she first met David Buckley, who is from Ballincollig.

“My best friend, who lives in Cork, rang me one day and said that I should come down for a night out to let my hair down,” said Chani.

“She said that her friend was having a 30th so I said I’d come down for the night, [and] it turned out that it was actually David’s sister’s birthday.

“We were floating around each other all night, but never actually saw each other.

“Apparently he saw me dancing with a group of friends, and at the end of the night he asked my friend if she would introduce us.

“We got chatting then and he asked if I wanted to come back to his house for an after party, and I said that sounded great.”

Picture -perfect romance

Following this night out, which ultimately framed the beginning of their picture-perfect romance, Chani and David began communicating regularly, with Chani making the first move.

“I was in a completely different place in my life compared to David — but I was besotted with him, so I decided I wanted to invite him over for dinner,” said Chani.

“I thought just asking him over for dinner might scare him off, so I texted him and said ‘do you want to come over for tickles and ice-cream’, jokingly, and he said it couldn’t have been a more perfect [invitation].

“After that then we started meeting up more and more, going on dates once a week.

“We did take a break for six months — it was the fear and realisation that David may have to become a dad, so he took a back seat for a while, but he never left my side.

“Although we weren’t going out anymore, he was calling every day — he rang me one day then after six months and said that he was ready — and that was it really, we’ve been in love ever since.”

In 2013, Chani and David were told that Chani would have trouble conceiving, and that her window for opportunity to carry a child was closing.

Reward

Despite this challenge early in their relationship, the pair decided to undertake the process of in-vitro-fertilisation (IVF), with their last round of the journey bringing them their much sought-after “reward”.

“We were probably going out for about two years before I was told that news, and although we were only just living together, we decided to postpone everything and just jump in with IVF,” said Chani.

“I was told that I had six months left to do IVF or I was never having children — and then Cillian (11) came along.

“With all of our children we say that Kai was our gift, Cillian was our reward and Evie (5) was our miracle — she just came along when we thought we were done.”

As the pair were awaiting the arrival of Cillian, Chani said that she was anticipating a proposal, having told “everyone” that she was expecting David to pop the question during a night away in Kerry in 2014.

“It was July — I was pregnant with Cillian — and in the 16 years I’ve known Davey, he has never booked anything,” said Chani.

“He had booked a night away in Kerry for my birthday, and I thought there’s no way he’s just doing this for [that], I had told everyone that he was definitely proposing".

“I spent the whole two days setting up romantic situations — I was so convinced it was going to happen, but it didn’t.

“He finally did propose about five months later — I was seven-and-a-half months pregnant, feeling the least attractive I ever have in my life.

“We were up at a house I was renovating — it was cold and dank, and I had just come out of the shower, my hair was wrapped in a towel and I think I had a face mask on.

“Davey took that point then to get down on one knee and propose with a jelly ring — I still have it, I kept it in resin — it looks pretty disgusting now, but it’s there.”

Married

Following the arrival of their second child, Chani and David were married in 2016 at Mount Druid in Westmeath, surrounded by friends and family.

“We didn’t want the norm, it wasn’t about a fancy sit down dinner or the dresses — I got my wedding dress online,” said Chani.

“There were lots of yurts, food trucks, great bands and music — all of our friends brought guitars and we had sing songs around the fire.

“We had Buckfast instead of Prosecco — it was like a proper dirty music festival — if you wanted to come in wellies, you could have come in wellies.”

Three years later, having believed her chances to conceive another child were slim to none, Chani fell pregnant with the pair’s third child, Evie.

“We always wanted to have Evie as well, we had been trying but it wasn’t happening,” said Chani. We decided that we’d have one last blast at IVF and it worked — she was an utter miracle.”

Reflecting on her love for her husband, Chani said that she felt immediately welcomed by David and his family, giving her a sense of safety and security.

“He’s the exact opposite of me — he’s the stake in the ground and I’m the wind in his sails,” she said.

“I love not just him but his whole family — his father Pat passed away a couple years ago, he was the most beautiful and kind man, and his mom, Bobbi, is just a treasure.”

New addition

The pair have spent the last nine years thoroughly in love, with Chani sharing that their family has since welcomed a new addition.

Their first grandchild, Bodhi, was born eight months ago, with Chani saying that they expect their plans for the future to include being fully entrenched in grandparent-hood, while simultaneously enjoying forever together.

“You probably won’t see us for awhile, with being snowed under with babysitting, but hopefully another 40 years of the same,” she said.

“I have these lovely pictures of us growing old together on rocking chairs that Davey has lovingly carved — so just us together.”