THEY are the sweethearts who were separated for 18 years but finally tied the knot – thanks to David Bowie.

Now Caroline and Nick Gray will selflessly spend their first wedding anniversary in a small tent for a 630 mile eight week walk for a charity close to their hearts.

But they say it is fate that they can take on the challenge of a lifetime together when they tackle the South West Coastal Path on Monday.

Caroline, said: “I do believe in fate and fate has definitely played a part in our story. Who would have thought after 18 years apart, we’d be married and about to spend two months together in the tiniest tent ever!”

The couple first met 25 years ago after working together on a roadshow. But though family and friends thought they were meant to be together, Nick ended the relationship.

But fate had plans to rekindle their romance 18 years later when David Bowie released his first album after a 10 year break. Nick realised Caroline, who is a huge fan of the music legend, was the one who got away.

The handyman from Swanage tracked Caroline down and sent her the CD for her birthday with a note apologising for treating her badly.

The couple met up a month later and within weeks Nick popped the question.

Caroline, 48, said: “I’d got to my age and I was single. The one person I thought I could ever marry was Nick.

“I was completely shocked when I got the package through. He said it gave him the courage to contact me.

“We just fell into place straight away. We continued where we left off. It was as if 18 years just didn’t happen!”

Caroline moved from Tunbridge Wells moved to Dorset to be with Nick and the pair married at Swanage town hall before a reception in a marquee on April 18 last year.

Caroline, who works as a self-employed photographer, said their renewed relationship has the support of their families which is their motivation to tackle the longest unbroken nature trail in the UK for the charities the British Heart Foundation and Child Bereavement UK.

Caroline said her family including young children have been torn apart by three sudden family deaths – her sister-in-law Maggie Derrick who left behind four children when she died from cancer aged 39, her dad Paul Derrick who died from a heart attack aged 59 and her niece Hannah Hudson who was just 12 when she was killed by a dangerous driver as she walked to school in 2009.

Caroline, said: “Sudden death is tragic enough and hard enough for adults to come to terms with but when it is the death of a child or children have to come to terms with a death, there are no words. The effects on them are extremely disturbing.

“What do you say to a four-year-old who asks you to make sure the police get the bad man that killed her niece or answer a nine-year-old child who asks why children on Casualty who have been hit by cars have not died.

“Hannah’s sister was 10 at the time and her brother was eight. They have lost their big sister forever and their lives were destroyed.

“These children are left with a dark cloud now that is never going to lift and that’s why the charity Child Bereavement UK is so special. They break down the stigma about death and give people hope.”

Child Bereavement UK supports families when a baby or child of any age dies or is dying, or when a child is facing bereavement.

Nick and Caroline will be blogging their experiences of the challenge with a promise they will not read each other’s posts on their site to give contrasting accounts.

Caroline, added: “We feel very lucky we are together. We love the outdoors and we just decided one day off the cuff that it would be great to walk the full path together for two fantastic charities. We won’t let anything get in our way.”

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