Kate and Kyle shortly after the proposal at the Principality Stadium.<\/strong> Credit: Kate Harwood<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nUnbeknown to Kate, all her friends and family were aware of what Kyle was planning. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere was a real buzz in the air and as the Welsh National Anthem finished, I turned around and saw Kyle down on one knee,\u201d said Kate. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHonestly, I was completely in shock and could not believe what I was seeing. All of our friends started to cheer and the rest of the crowd around us.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
When Kate went on a girls’ holiday to Spain in 2013, she didn\u2019t know she was about to meet her future fianc\u00e9.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt was only supposed to be a holiday romance, but eight years later, here we are, planning our wedding,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The couple were in a long-distance relationship for four years before travelling the world together for 18 months. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
While on their travels the couple visited Australia, Thailand and Malaysia before the pandemic forced the couple to return to the UK.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe are both now living and working in Cardiff, busy planning our wedding, which will take place in 2022,\u201d said Kate. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Childhood sweethearts reunite 30 years later<\/h3>\n\n\n\n DANIELLE and Peter first saw each other at nursery, but it wasn\u2019t until over 30 years after that meet-cute that they would fall in love. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI do believe in fate and I do believe everything happens for a reason, we\u2019ve both been through the mill a little in the past but neither of us would change it,\u201d said Danielle. <\/p>\n\n\n\nDanielle and Peter at nursery and now.<\/strong> Credit: Danielle Winstone<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nIn April 2020, Peter Hale, 34, got in touch with Danielle Winstone, 35, through Facebook after she posted a status to say she was shielding. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Peter offered to help Danielle with shopping as he also lived in Pentyrch. Danielle\u2019s only requests were a cherry Coke and a dark chocolate Bounty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Their friendship blossomed as Peter dropped off essentials and had socially distanced chats on Danielle\u2019s doorstep. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In true 2020 style, their first date was a socially distanced Indian takeaway in the garden. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As restrictions eased in August, the couple were able to enjoy their new romantic relationship by going on dates and spending quality time together. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Peter isolated for two weeks in order to join Danielle in her support bubble. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOur plan for the future is just to take each day as it comes, [we\u2019re] enjoying each other\u2019s company,\u201d said Danielle. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
30 years and counting<\/h3>\n\n\n\n KNOWN by friends for their \u201cwacky\u201d parties, Jamie and Mike\u2019s civil partnership was anything but low-key. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Taking place in the Cinderella Room of the London Palladium, Mike Phillips and Jamie Wilcox\u2019s ceremony included drag queens, cocktails, a variety of musical anthems and a performance by London\u2019s Gay Men’s Chorus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mike (left) and Jamie (right) at their Civil Partnership ceremony at the London Palladium.<\/strong> Credit: Mike Phillips. <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t think they knew what was about to hit them when we turned up with our plans,\u201d said Mike. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt had to be at a theatre because of our performing background,\u201d said Jamie. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jamie, 59, originally from Melbourne, Australia, is a former dancer and Mike, 53, trained as an actor at The Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The London Palladium has a soft spot in Mike\u2019s heart. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mike\u2019s Aunt Kate, one of the few family members to remain in his life after he came out as gay, always told the story of him as a young boy dancing around her living room saying he wanted to perform at the Palladium when he was older. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
They met for first time in a pub on a Sunday afternoon in Cardiff. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt was definitely love at first sight for him,\u201d joked Mike. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now living together in London, Mike and Jamie have fond memories of their time together in Cardiff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jamie Wilcox and Mike Phillips at a Wales v Australia rugby game in 2013.<\/strong> Credit: Mike Phillips<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n\u201cCardiff is very special to us. It\u2019s the birthplace of our relationship,\u201d said Jamie. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cCardiff is where it all started and we\u2019re still bickering 30 years on,\u201d Mike added. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Same sex marriage was legalised in England and Wales in 2014. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 2016, Mike and Jamie got married and celebrated in a gin palace on Fleet Street. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Our favourite city is home to many great romances. Here are some …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":548,"featured_media":49915,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,14,1,6843],"tags":[23,3417,154,1760],"coauthors":[6720],"class_list":["post-49908","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-longer-reads","category-outabout","category-people-of-cardiff","tag-cardiff","tag-principality-stadium","tag-rugby-2","tag-valentines-day"],"yoast_head":"\n
Cwtches, chocolate and cherry Coke: Cardiff\u2019s love stories - The Cardiffian<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2021\/02\/12\/cwtches-chocolate-and-cherry-coke-cardiffs-love-stories\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Cwtches, chocolate and cherry Coke: Cardiff\u2019s love stories - The Cardiffian\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Our favourite city is home to many great romances. Here are some ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2021\/02\/12\/cwtches-chocolate-and-cherry-coke-cardiffs-love-stories\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Cardiffian\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-02-12T13:30:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-02-12T13:37:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2021\/02\/heartsfeature.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"750\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Rhiannon James\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Rhiannon James\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2021\/02\/12\/cwtches-chocolate-and-cherry-coke-cardiffs-love-stories\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2021\/02\/12\/cwtches-chocolate-and-cherry-coke-cardiffs-love-stories\/\",\"name\":\"Cwtches, chocolate and cherry Coke: Cardiff\u2019s love stories - The Cardiffian\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2021\/02\/12\/cwtches-chocolate-and-cherry-coke-cardiffs-love-stories\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2021\/02\/12\/cwtches-chocolate-and-cherry-coke-cardiffs-love-stories\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2021\/02\/heartsfeature.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-02-12T13:30:17+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-02-12T13:37:24+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/#\/schema\/person\/6071b17e1e7de28110d704a609741ed4\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2021\/02\/12\/cwtches-chocolate-and-cherry-coke-cardiffs-love-stories\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2021\/02\/12\/cwtches-chocolate-and-cherry-coke-cardiffs-love-stories\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2021\/02\/12\/cwtches-chocolate-and-cherry-coke-cardiffs-love-stories\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2021\/02\/heartsfeature.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2021\/02\/heartsfeature.jpg\",\"width\":1500,\"height\":750,\"caption\":\"Credit: Kelly Sikkema (Unsplash)\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2021\/02\/12\/cwtches-chocolate-and-cherry-coke-cardiffs-love-stories\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Cwtches, chocolate and cherry Coke: Cardiff\u2019s love stories\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/\",\"name\":\"The Cardiffian\",\"description\":\"Just another JOMEC Sites Network site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/#\/schema\/person\/6071b17e1e7de28110d704a609741ed4\",\"name\":\"Rhiannon James\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/2d4a630bc2c3c8f44374f47a847f12cd\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/46f7889dc025c665b320dfe1073fe1c90e06e3729f18bb6f79718d3f68e976d1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/46f7889dc025c665b320dfe1073fe1c90e06e3729f18bb6f79718d3f68e976d1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Rhiannon James\"},\"description\":\"Trainee journalist at The Cardiffian, covering Radyr, Morganstown and Pentyrch.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/author\/rhiannonjames\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Cwtches, chocolate and cherry Coke: Cardiff\u2019s love stories - The Cardiffian","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2021\/02\/12\/cwtches-chocolate-and-cherry-coke-cardiffs-love-stories\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Cwtches, chocolate and cherry Coke: Cardiff\u2019s love stories - The Cardiffian","og_description":"Our favourite city is home to many great romances. Here are some ...","og_url":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2021\/02\/12\/cwtches-chocolate-and-cherry-coke-cardiffs-love-stories\/","og_site_name":"The Cardiffian","article_published_time":"2021-02-12T13:30:17+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-02-12T13:37:24+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1500,"height":750,"url":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2021\/02\/heartsfeature.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Rhiannon James","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Rhiannon James","Estimated reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2021\/02\/12\/cwtches-chocolate-and-cherry-coke-cardiffs-love-stories\/","url":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2021\/02\/12\/cwtches-chocolate-and-cherry-coke-cardiffs-love-stories\/","name":"Cwtches, chocolate and cherry Coke: Cardiff\u2019s love stories - The Cardiffian","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2021\/02\/12\/cwtches-chocolate-and-cherry-coke-cardiffs-love-stories\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2021\/02\/12\/cwtches-chocolate-and-cherry-coke-cardiffs-love-stories\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2021\/02\/heartsfeature.jpg","datePublished":"2021-02-12T13:30:17+00:00","dateModified":"2021-02-12T13:37:24+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/#\/schema\/person\/6071b17e1e7de28110d704a609741ed4"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2021\/02\/12\/cwtches-chocolate-and-cherry-coke-cardiffs-love-stories\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2021\/02\/12\/cwtches-chocolate-and-cherry-coke-cardiffs-love-stories\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2021\/02\/12\/cwtches-chocolate-and-cherry-coke-cardiffs-love-stories\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2021\/02\/heartsfeature.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2021\/02\/heartsfeature.jpg","width":1500,"height":750,"caption":"Credit: Kelly Sikkema (Unsplash)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2021\/02\/12\/cwtches-chocolate-and-cherry-coke-cardiffs-love-stories\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Cwtches, chocolate and cherry Coke: Cardiff\u2019s love stories"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/#website","url":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/","name":"The Cardiffian","description":"Just another JOMEC Sites Network site","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/#\/schema\/person\/6071b17e1e7de28110d704a609741ed4","name":"Rhiannon James","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/2d4a630bc2c3c8f44374f47a847f12cd","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/46f7889dc025c665b320dfe1073fe1c90e06e3729f18bb6f79718d3f68e976d1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/46f7889dc025c665b320dfe1073fe1c90e06e3729f18bb6f79718d3f68e976d1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Rhiannon James"},"description":"Trainee journalist at The Cardiffian, covering Radyr, Morganstown and Pentyrch.","url":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/author\/rhiannonjames\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49908","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/548"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49908"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49908\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49966,"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49908\/revisions\/49966"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49915"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49908"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49908"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49908"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=49908"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2021\/02\/IMG_7986.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2021\/02\/IMG_7983.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2021\/02\/IMG_7984-779x1024.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2021\/02\/0267-1024x683.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2021\/02\/M-and-J-at-the-Rugby.jpg\")