Katie-Jane Neave and James Titmuss have proved there doesn’t need to be plenty of other fish in the sea... sometimes it’s purely love at first ‘site’.

The pair, who live in Southend, are getting ready to say I do after meeting on dating platform Plenty of Fish just over two years ago.

Echo:

Happy couple - Katie-Jane and James

Amazingly, Katie-Jane was the first - and only - person James had ever messaged on a dating site.

Katie-Jane, a PA for an assets management company in London, and James, Head of Product Development for an insurance company in Southend exchanged messages on the site for two weeks before moving their relationship offline.

James then asked Katie-Jane out on a date which they arranged for a week later.

But, unable to wait another week, James lied and said that he would be in London for a meeting and suggested a pre-date meet up during Katie’s lunch break, which just so happened to be on Valentine’s Day. Four months down the line the pair decided to move in together, and on Valentine’s Day 2019 James popped the question.

And to add just another slice of good fortune, the pair welcomed a healthy baby girl into the world in November and are set to tie the knot in March next year.

Katie said “I’ve had previous experiences of online dating on various different sites and when I moved to Essex, I decided not to date anyone for a year.

Echo:

In love - the pair on holiday

"Then, one of my friends recommended Plenty of Fish. I had around three or four dates that weren’t successful and I was deciding whether to continue or not with online dating when I got a message from James.

Now a dad of two, James added: “I was separated and I reached a point where I decided I didn’t want to put my life on hold any longer.

“I signed up to Plenty of Fish in early 2018 and I found Katie’s profile.

“I saw Katie and I thought: ‘There she is’, and my total online experience is sent one message, marrying one as I have never messaged anyone else on a dating site.”

The pair have also extolled the virtues of online dating.

James said: “Dating online gives you the chance to find someone that wants what you want - you can see if they’re happy to date someone with children for example.

“In a bar, you can’t go straight up to someone and ask what their views are on having children. When it comes to online dating, there is no reason to hide who you are, because you want to find someone who accepts you and loves you for who you are.”

Katie added: “I said to James from the beginning that I really wanted to have children and one of my first questions was: ‘You already have a child, do you want to have more?’ And when he answered yes, I was glad because that was one hurdle out the way.”