4 minute read
Real Life The e-baby revolution
from womans4 5ya
by loopedsaxe3
The e-baby
REVOLUTI
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As more couples start to have kids meeting online, two lots ofparents reveal all about their ‘e-families’
By 2035, more people will meet their partners via the internet than in the real world, according to a prediction. Experts say that 2037 will be the year ‘e-babies’ –kids bo to people who met online –will outnumber those born to parents who met the old-fashioned way. Here, two couple explain how they met and how they made their relationship last.
‘WE SWAPPED PLAYLISTS’ Talisa Barber, 30, had given up on dating apps as they never led to anything. Then she met Raymond, 34, a salesman, on Tinder. They now live in Crawley, West Sussex, with their son Thomas, two.
Both Raymond and I never expected to fi nd love on Tinder, let alone marriage and kids. At the start of 2015, I had installed the app to give it a try, but ended up with lots of unsolicited pictures and dates that ended badly. I deleted the app and focused on my job as an air hostess. Then a friend convinced me to give it one last shot, so I reinstalled Tinder and started looking again. I saw Raymond’s profi le, liked it, and realised we’d matched, so we started messaging. Before we met, we both created a Spotify playlist and swapped them – we fi gured if we liked each other’s music, then we should meet. I remember swapping music tapes in school with boyfriends and this was our online version.
The day we met, I was sick and had posted a picture of myself getting ready where I was wearing pink. Raymond showed up with a huge bunch of pink fl owers to prove he was attentive and had seen my picture. He also told me he’d lost a bet with his mates. He’d been playing what he called Tinder Roulette, messagin every girl and no o was messaging bac He was trying to prove to his mates that no one was interested in him,
and th I cam along On Year’s 2016, offi cia becam couple, and nine m later, I discovered pregnant. We got m August 2019 and T the star attraction love on Tinder sho but I could not be h
‘I KNEW SHE WAS THE ONE’ Raymond, 34, says: I lost my Tinder bet when I met Talisa but I won a beautiful wife and son. The day I met her I knew she was The One.
Real Life
WORDS: ALLEY EINSTEIN © THE SUN/NEWS LICENSING. PHOTOS: ANDREW LLOYD AND DARREN COOL/THE SUN/NEWS LICENSING ‘HE WAS 160 MILES AWAY’ Suzi Sims, 40, is a support worker. She and husband Matthew, 35, a data analyst, are the proud parents of a fi ve-month-old e-baby after meeting online gaming.
The couple, from Frome, eas Somerset, met in 2007 on an online forum dedicated to the game RuneScape , and baby Aurelia is a wonderful new addition to their ‘e-family’. I have always been a keen gamer, and in 2007, I was living in Wales and RuneScape was popular. It’s a multiplayer game set in a fantasy world called Gielinor and you get to create an identity, live in diff erent villages while ancient gods battle to rule. I was single and had recently broken up with a boyfriend. I don’t mind admitting I am a bit of a geek and played RuneScape daily. As a dedicated fan, I also spent hours on a RuneScape forum, talking to players all over the world about everything from the game to general news and life. One night, in February 2007, I j i d a chat about music, e were soon chatting online every day and learning more and more about each other. It was fun sharing my interest in the game with a guy. We loved playing against each other.
That October, we decided to meet at a horror festival, just as friends. We both like horror movies and cosplay, where you dress up as your favourite characters.
We started long-distance dating – and, two years later, I moved to Frome to live with Matthew. We had a big white wedding in Bath, with 100 guests. In November 2018, I discovered I was pregnant, and in June 2019, our daughter Aurelia was born. We were brought together online through a common love of gaming, and told each other everything. ‘WE’D NEVER HAVE MET IN THE REAL WORLD’
Suzi and Matthew met over a shared love of RuneScape
d h e met
Matthew, 35, says: Meeting Suzi is one of the best things that ever happened to me. I never thought I’d fi nd someone who shared my love of games and cosplay. Our baby is proof you can fi nd love online without using a dating site.
