A couple fell in love after meeting on Nextdoor - after 40 years of being neighbours but never meeting. Chris Place, 44, went on the hyperlocal social networking service to look for bargains and spotted Michelle Tooby, 42.
He loved her pic so sent a 'wave' notification - and was delighted when she popped one back. After two weeks of chatting online they went on a date and realised that, while they had never met, they had a lot in common.
They hung out in the same park as kids, had children at the same schools and had never lived more than a few minutes away from each other in Mansfield. Seven months on from their first message, the pair are an item - spending half of each week together.
Chris, a former warehouse operative, said: "We've crossed paths no end of times since we were very young. It's like it just wasn't meant to happen until now. It was the last thing I expected.
"We’re planning for the future but I haven’t popped the question yet. It's great because if we get married our surname will be Place-Tooby - like 'place-to-be'."
Michelle, an ex bar worker, said: "Neither of us were looking for love - we'd completely given up. I'm so glad we've found each other.
"It's so different from the way I've felt about someone before. It's just meant to be, and it's the right time now. It's like our relationship waited for the right moment."
Chris, a self-confessed hoarder, went on the app to check out what people were selling but got distracted by Michelle's picture in August 2022. They found they shared loads of hobbies like going out, driving, and gardening.
And they discovered they'd always lived no more than 10 minutes apart. Michelle even recognised Chris' car. The pair used to go to the same park after school, and as adults went to the same pubs. Chris' daughter, Kya, now 22, and Michelle's son, now 20 and daughter Lexi, now 14, had shared schools over the years.
Chris said: "I was looking for something out of the ordinary and that's exactly what I found. There's just something about the way she looks that really captures me. She's a very kind person and you can see that in her face.
"I mean don't get me wrong, she can be very sassy too. As soon as we started chatting we got on like a house on fire - there was something extraordinarily special about it. We feel so comfortable together, and it keeps getting better and better, even now."
Nextdoor is an app where neighbours can sell and buy from each other, plan meet-ups, and share local information.
