I got myself a date!❤️👫

It’s been one year since I wrote and published my first blog so I thought I’d update you on what has happened in that year. Back then I had zero idea what I was doing… and if I’m honest, I still don’t! It’s very much a “learning on the job” type of thing, however I’ve really enjoyed it and can’t believe it’s been an entire year of this crazy journey I’ve been on.

I’ve written 31 blog posts, had 5,949 visitors to my site and out of those people, my blogs have been read 11,660 times! It’s madness! That’s a lot of people! Actually quite terrifying if I think about it too much! I’ve got 1,037 followers across all my social media sites too which is amazing. Thank you to every single one of you who has read the blogs, supported me, “liked” things I’ve been doing… it means the world. Talking of the world, it’s being read all over the world! Here are just a few places: China, Philippines, America, Australia, Germany, Canada, New Zealand, Netherlands, India, Singapore, Hong Kong, Sweden, Ghana, Venezuela, Rwanda, Peru, Bangladesh, Russia in fact… this map shows everywhere it’s been read in the world!

Then there’s THE BOOK. It’s all still very surreal. Like it’s a book with my name on that I didn’t write. Can’t quite believe I managed to do it! It’s been on sale now for almost 4 months and that in itself is a little mind blowing!

Whilst trying to work out how on earth I do all of this as well as my actual job… I appear to have got myself not just a date, but an actual boyfriend. Yes. There you go. I’ve said it out loud. An actual boyfriend.

When you write a blog and a book about being single and so many people follow your journey to find a boyfriend… when you get one, it becomes a big thing that everyone is interested in.

Everyone wants to know everything because they’ve all been opened up into my world, hoping and praying that at some point I’d meet someone who isn’t crazy, mental, weird, smelly etc. So I felt like it’s not something I could casually put on Facebook like most people do. It’s suddenly a big thing in my life. And not just because I’ve been single for so long! Me, Shelly Smith… has a boyfriend!

Those of you who follow my Instagram account will know that back in June I was given a “wish” bracelet. I’ve worn it every day since then. With it came some information: “Make a wish. Put on your bracelet and trust in the magic of the angels. When the bracelet wears off, your wish is ready to come true.” It literally flew off my wrist last week so I decided it was a sign and time to tell you all what I wished for and that my wish had come true.

Many friends and family have said for years that I’m “too picky”. I like to think that I’m just not settling for someone that’s not right. I’m aware that no one is perfect, and that having a list of attributes that you’d like in a boyfriend can be a little unrealistic and can put up a barrier for finding “the one”. However we all secretly have an ideal list… right?

The wish that I made was to finally find someone with all of the things on my “ideal” list:

Funny. Silly. Handsome. Adventurous. Good teeth (very important) Good dress sense. Caring. Kind. Gentlemanly. Loving. Thoughtful. Good at cooking. Good at cleaning. Good at taking showers (I never want to smell a smelly man ever again in my life) Good communicator. Someone who makes me laugh. Someone who has no drama. Someone who is chilled and laid back. Someone who will hold my hand. Someone who I know has got my back. Likes the outdoors. Lives within 10 miles of me. Likes yoga and all things spiritual. Prefers music to TV. In touch with his emotions. Likes travelling. Likes red wine. Likes cake. Likes coffee. Has a big heart. Provides good hugs. And most importantly, someone who makes me happy who would become a best friend.

Well… it appears that waiting all this time was worth it as I somehow have found a man who fits all of my list. And he’s bloody lovely. Thankfully, he’s VERY understanding about my blogging and my book. I suddenly started to wonder if guys would be put off dating me in case I was dating purely for research and content for another book!

We met last year online- so I have now become one of the statistics that I never thought I’d be- someone who can prove that online dating DOES work.

As they say- be careful what you wish for! I got to a point in my life where I was genuinely happy on my own. Happily doing my own thing, then BOOM up pops a lovely man. I had decided that IF I was to meet someone now, I’d want him to enhance the life that I love that I’ve created for myself, fit in easily, and for everything to be stress free and easy. And I’m happy to say he does exactly this.

I didn’t want to jinx it by telling people too early so I’ve kept him my “secret” for months- as he keeps telling me. So there you go, world. It’s out there. I have a boyfriend, and I’m hoping he’s here to stay.

I’ll continue to blog about online dating and dating in general as I think it’ll forever fascinate me. However there will be no “mental messages” anymore that guys have sent me and no more dating stories of my own about crazy people I have met. Just stories about myself on my new journey and trying to work out how life in a relationship works.

So for now… thanks again for all being lovely and wonderful. Let’s see what another year brings!

Here is THE worn away wish bracelet!