Woman accidentally friends man on Facebook, and now they're dating
Jo Kelly and Matthew Benja serendipitously connected on the social site
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Status – in a relationship!
A couple in Wales serendipitously connected after the woman accidentally friended the man on Facebook. Now, they plan to get engaged.
Jo Kelly inadvertently friended Matthew Benja on the platform about a year ago, Metro reports, after his profile popped up in the "people you may know" section, per South West News Service (SWNS.) Though Kelly, 42, and Benja, 34, are both from the village of Beaufort in Blaenau Gwent, they had never crossed paths before.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Jo Kelly inadvertently friended Matthew Benja on Facebook about a year ago. (SWNS)
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At first, Kelly said she was too "embarrassed" to remove Benja as a new Facebook friend after accidentally adding him on the social site.
"I’m a clown with my phone, I do things as I’m scrolling that I don’t realize," she said, per SWNS. "He then messaged me saying ‘Sorry Jo, I don’t think I know you’ and I said ‘No you don’t I’m sorry, it must have been a mistake.’"
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"It’s just so bizarre – we live in this tiny town where everybody knows everybody – but we’re the only two who don’t know each other," Kelly said. (SWNS)
"It felt embarrassing – but we didn’t unfriend each other"
Soon after, the two got to talking and later hit it off. Benja penned a Facebook post about how hard it is to find authentic people nowadays, which struck a chord with Kelly and sparked a conversation, which kept on going.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"It’s just so bizarre – we live in this tiny town where everybody knows everybody – but we’re the only two who don’t know each other," Kelly said. Though the two share "loads of mutual mates," they realized they probably had never met before because of their age difference, and having attended two different schools. The connections continued, and the couple even discovered their dads had played on the same rugby team back in the day.
Though the two share "loads of mutual mates," they realized they probably had never met before because of their age difference, and having attended two different schools. (SWNS)
According to Kelly, both she and her man were hesitant to jump into anything too quickly after being single and focusing on their children. Kelly has two daughters, ages 14 and 18, while Benja’s daughter is 12.
Putting her heart on the line and deciding to meet up, Kelly was charmed from the start after meeting her future beau.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"One night, I decided to meet him for a chat and drove to his place. I was still wearing my comfies, so I really wasn't expecting anything to come of it," she told WalesOnline.
"We just sat in the car for ages and talked, and I liked what I heard. And from that point we became inseparable - I genuinely felt like I'd found my soul mate."
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Soon after, the couple supported each other through two serious health scares. Benja developed an abscess in his throat due to a complication with tonsillitis, and Kelly weathered a cancer scare after finding a lump in her breast.
Carrying each other through the difficult time, Benja and Kelly now look forward to a happy, healthy future together.
"I always say to him ‘I’m surprised you didn’t just get out of here,’" she joked. "But he didn’t, so fair play."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Now, the lovebirds reportedly plan to buy a home and get engaged soon.