Strangers met when their plane delayed and now they are getting married

Love really took off when strangers Kristen
Adamson and Darren Ashcroft were stuck at an
airport.
They were grounded by a delayed flight but that
was just what they needed to meet and fall in
love.
Now, 18 months later, Canadian Kristen and Brit
Darren have bought a house together and, in
September, are to wed.
Their story began in June 2014 at Toronto airport
in Canada. Marketing executive Kristen, 26, was
heading to Kenya, via Heathrow, to volunteer at
an orphanage. She had just been through a
painful break-up and had sworn off men.
But then she met engineering supervisor Darren,
33, who was waiting for the same delayed British
Airways flight.

Kristen approached Darren and his pal Alex when
all the people at the gate had disappeared. She
had been wearing headphones and feared she had
missed her flight.
She said: “Everyone else had been given
meal vouchers and had gone to get food.”
They asked Kristen to sit with them and trio
spent the next few hours laughing and drinking.
When they finally boarded, there was an empty
seat next to Darren.
She said:
“We decided I was meant to be sitting
there. It was a red eye flight, everyone was
sleeping but Darren and I just kept talking.
“We shared our life stories and exchanged
details but I thought I’d never see him
again.”
Kristen was in Kenya for nearly a month and
messaged Darren every day. When she flew back
home to Toronto fate once again had a hand as
her plane was delayed in Heathrow.
She decided she could stay in London for the
weekend and she met Darren for dinner and
drinks.
The next day he invited her to his sister’s
birthday. But parting was hard.
Darren said:
“Seeing her disappear through the airport
was the worst. I didn’t know when I’d see
her again. That’s when I knew I loved her .”
But when Darren received compensation for his
lengthy delay, he flew her back over and the
couple spent three weeks together.
And when Kristen got her payment for the 2014
wait she returned to Darren and successfully ­
applied for a visa.
She said:
“It was all very fast but very natural.
Everything just seemed right. I got a job
and we bought a house together last
October. Things have been fantastic ever since.”

In August last year, the day before the couple’s
one-year anniversary, Darren popped the question
with a surprise picnic.
“Darren said it had been a crazy year and
why not make it a little bit crazier,” laughed
Kristen.
“Everyone tells me they have never seen me
so happy, so I guess we’ve a lot to thank
British Airways for. We’re marrying here in
September.
"It has been a whirlwind and it’s only going
to get more exciting from here on out.”
The couple live in Wickford, Essex, and Darren
said:
“Proposing to Kristen was one of the
easiest decisions of my entire life. "And I’m
looking forward to spending the rest of my
life with the most amazing woman I’ve ever
met.”