Couple who met through mistakenly sent WhatsApp message are now married

The pair believe that fate brought them together

A couple have revealed how one message to the wrong number changed both their lives forever.

Last year Lina Dahlbeck, 37 from Morden, south London, received a WhatsApp message from an unknown number, which she assumed was sent by mistake.

The message, which read “Girls Trip”, was sent by Michael Evangelou, 44, from Colliers Wood in south London, to a number he thought was his own as a reminder to see the film at the cinema.

However, he was shocked when he received reply saying, “Hi! Girls trip? Who’s this please? I’m guessing this was intended for another Lina.”

After realising he had inadvertently sent the message to a stranger, the pair struck up a conversation as they attempted to figure out exactly what had happened.

Despite never meeting, Dahlbeck and Evangelou chatted for most of the day before arranging to meet for a drink later that night.

“We started chatting back and forth. I think if I wasn’t single I wouldn’t have continued the chat,” Dahlbeck said.

“I had checked the picture on his WhatsApp profile and he was attractive.”

The couple say people are astonished every time they explain how they met (SWNS)

The couple met at a restaurant in Waterloo just four hours after the initial message was sent, kissed later that night and met up again the next day for brunch.

“He was so attractive. He talked a lot but I realised it was because he was nervous. It was really adorable,” Dahlbeck added.

“We were both so puzzled by the whole thing - we were on a date just four hours after that WhatsApp message.

“We were convinced it was fate that had brought us together.”

The couple wanted a very small and intimate wedding for just friends and family (SWNS)

What ensued was a whirlwind romance neither of them expected and just two weeks after their first date, Evangelou proposed.

“We were talking about our dreams and I said I had always wanted to live in Dubai,” Dahlbeck explained.

“Michael said: ‘Let’s do it, let’s move there together.’

“I explained that it was a Muslim country so we would have to be married to live together.

“It wasn’t a hint at all but he said: ‘Let’s do it then. Let’s get married.’

“I asked him if he was serious and he assured me that he was. He said: ‘I want to spend the rest of my life with you, Lina.’

“Even though we were just sitting at home with the television on, it felt romantic. I knew I wanted to marry him.”

The couple married on December 7 in front of 30 guests at Morden Park House, South West London, and while their parents were fully supportive, they admit some friends and family had mixed reactions.

Just two weeks after their first date, Michael asked Lina to marry him (SWNS)

“Most of our friends thought we were a bit nuts but they agreed that if it’s right you know and there are no guarantees in this life,” Dahlbeck said.

“My parents and Michael’s parents were delighted. I had already met his mum but because my parents live in Sweden, they didn’t meet Michael until the day before the wedding.

“They were happy for us - they did think it was quick but they didn’t question it.”

Seven months later, Dahlbeck and Evangelou can’t believe how much their lives have changed at the hands of one mistaken message and still enjoy sharing their ‘how we met story’ with friends.

In March, the couple are jetting off to Dubai where Dahlbeck aims to launch a make-up school and with children also on the cards the couple insist that their story is a lesson to others not to give up on love.

“I had given up on love and then Michael sent that message and literally landed in my life,” Dahlbeck added.

“My story gives hope to everyone: never give up.

“He’s my dream man and it’s destiny. The universe had something to do with this for sure.”