I was in a terrible state when he arrived – barely holding back tears. It was less than a year after Holly went missing and, looking back, I think I was probably in the middle of a nervous breakdown. But when Matt showed up he was so kind. He fixed the wiring in no time, and afterwards, when I asked if I could make him a drink, he told me to sit down and relax and that he would make coffee for me.

As well as being drop-dead gorgeous, he was the sweetest man – asking if I was okay, and if there was anyone he could call for me. Jess was at nursery that day and so he and I were alone in the flat. He was staring at me with all this compassion and I thought I was going to start properly sobbing. Instead, I did something totally out of character – I leaned forward and kissed him.

It was shocking and passionate, like nothing I’d ever experienced before. We ended up sleeping together and then afterwards we both apologised like crazy. It turned out he had just been dumped by his long-term girlfriend and was feeling almost as vulnerable as me. Afterwards, we chatted for hours about everything and nothing. I told him about my break-up with Andy, but I didn’t mention Holly going missing. It was all still too raw and terrible, and I didn’t want to taint the beautiful day we’d just spent together – a precious moment out of time. Before he left, he promised he would call me again. I hoped he was telling the truth, but honestly, I didn’t believe he actually would.

True to his word, Matt called me the very next day, saying he couldn’t get me out of his head. We started seeing one another and he was so lovely with Jess – patient and funny. She took to him straight away. Within a couple of months I discovered I was pregnant. I dreaded telling Matt, terrified that I would scare him off. But he was over the moon and asked me to marry him. I told him that I would love to marry him one day, but not yet. We had enough to deal with, and not a lot of money. I said just being together would be enough for me. He was a little disappointed but accepted my decision.