After a series of dating disasters, Bronny hatched the ultimate man plan.
Here, Bronny, 47, from Melbourne, tells the story in her own words.
My heart dropped as I looked at the Facebook profile on my screen. The man I’d been dating for the past few months was already married!
Furious, I typed out a text.
Tell your wife I like her wedding dress! I wrote.
Sighing, I wondered if I’d ever find a decent man.
I’d been on my own for the past two years.
A single mum, I adored spending time with my girl, Lexie. But at 42, I still craved a man to share my life with.
From dating apps to blind dates, I’d done it all. I’d even met one bloke at a funeral.
We went for dinner, but when he pointed out the huge chunk of cheese that had been hanging off my chin all night, I was too embarrassed to see him again.
Chatting with my mate John a few months later, he mentioned that he was looking for love.
‘I’ve created a profile online, but I’m not having any luck,’ he complained.
‘Let me look, I’ll see if I can jazz it up,’ I grinned.
After swapping the snaps and changing his bio, I handed it back to him.
‘See how you get on now,’ I said.
Within a week, John dropped me a message.
I’ve met an amazing woman called Cheryl, we’ve just had the best date! he typed. It’s all down to you, thank you.
When I met Cheryl, it was obvious she and John were meant to be. So it was no surprise when they got married a year later.
‘You definitely helped get us together,’ Cheryl told me, ‘but I also cast a man spell which must have done the job!’
‘A man spell? Tell me more,’ I said excitedly.
Cheryl explained she’d written a shopping list of all the things she wanted in her dream man.
‘Go for gold, anything you want in your guy, write it down!’ she said.
Then, I had to print off a photo of what he’d look like and staple it to the list.
‘Slip it under your mattress and Prince Charming will be knocking on your door in no time,’ she winked.
At home later, I swooned as I watched the character Don Draper on the TV show, Mad Men.
His personality isn’t great, but that man is so hot, I thought.
Remembering the spell, I decided to give it a crack.
On my list, I went to town.
Green eyes, intelligent, good dress sense, listens, doesn’t mind kids, a lover of wine and travel…
‘Oh, and he must want to get married!’ I said.
Printing off a photo of Jon Hamm, who played Don Draper, I stapled the pieces of paper together and placed them under my bed.
I was having a break from dating, but I hoped my dream man would arrive soon.
When I felt ready to start meeting men again, there were a few disastrous dates.
Deciding to try a different method, I downloaded Tinder. Swiping through heaps of unsuitable candidates, I started to feel disheartened.
But then a man called Soledad popped up.
Scrolling through his photos, my heart stopped.
Was that Jon Hamm at the beach? When did he come to Australia? I thought.
But on further inspection, I realised it was Soledad.
After reading his profile, I quickly swiped right.
Within seconds, we matched!
How it’s going? he messaged.
Butterflies fluttering in my tummy, I sent a response.
Finding out his name was Sol, the messages flew back and forth.
‘You look like Don Draper,’ I told him.
‘I get that from people a lot,’ he replied.
A few weeks after chatting, we met for dinner.
Sol looked even better in real life!
‘I have to say, you are an extremely handsome man, you must have no problem meeting women,’ I told him.
‘I have a problem meeting the right woman,’ he smiled.
We spent the whole night chatting, discovering that we both had daughters the same age. They even had similar names – Lexie and Roxie!
And we both lived at door number nine.
Ending the night with a cheeky kiss, I was smitten.
And so was he.
Within six weeks we’d said, ‘I love you.’
I also introduced Lexie to Sol’s brood – Roxie, seven at the time, Orson, five, and Coen, three.
Almost straight away, I showed Sol my man spell, which he thought was cool.
‘That’s so funny,’ he laughed.
After dating for a year, we moved in together and a few months on, Sol proposed.
‘Yes!’ I cried.
Last year, we eloped to Las Vegas to get married.
We’re planning to have a second wedding in Australia in the next few years.
‘I knew you were the woman for me as soon as I saw you on Tinder,’ Sol admitted.
Whenever I meet a single woman looking for love, I urge them to try the man spell. I’m living proof that it really does work.
Sol is my dream man and is Jon Hamm’s doppelgänger – people often say how much he looks like him.
It’s been a long road, but I’ve finally got the fairytale ending I’ve always wanted. ●
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