DJ texted ‘hello’ to a random number, woman turned out to be his future wife: ‘Didn’t really think about…’

Donovan Shears, a DJ who sent a random text message as a joke in 1998, ended up meeting his future wife, Kirsty.

In 1998, Donovan Shears, an 18-year-old DJ, made a light-hearted decision to send out random text messages to a series of made-up numbers. Armed with his new mobile phone, he sent out “hello” to numbers that shared the first four digits with his own. It was just a playful stunt, but what happened next would change his life forever, reported the New York Post.

The man texted random numbers that shared the first four digits with his own. (Pexel)

Donovan was taken aback when he received a response from a woman named Kirsty, who simply replied, "hi." What followed was a steady stream of text conversations, with the pair getting to know each other despite the miles between them. Kirsty was living in Cleethorpes, over 100 miles away from Donovan, who was in Coventry. Their connection deepened with every message exchanged, and eventually they decided to meet in person.

"We would text through the day, and then obviously it would become more and more frequent," Kirsty recalled. "At one point, we decided we should phone each other."

Before technology took over…

In an era before camera phones were the norm, the couple had to rely on words to describe what they looked like. "I asked him what he looked like, and he said he was 6ft 6ins, and I thought ‘is he really?’ Luckily he really is that tall, so I wasn’t being catfished via text," said Kirsty, who was using an Alcatel mobile phone at the time. Donovan replied, "I told her I was 6ft 6ins, and she believed me, and I wasn’t even lying!"

The pair had their first face-to-face meeting in Coventry about six months after their initial contact. Kirsty took a leap of faith and boarded a train from Cleethorpes to meet Donovan. "I said to my stepsister, ‘I’ve got to go and meet this guy,’ and she was like, ‘He could be anyone,’ and I was like, ‘Yes, I know,’ but I was 18 and didn’t really think about consequences," she said.

Their first date included a trip to a nightclub and a lat=e-night kebab, marking the beginning of their relationship. "The rest is history," Donovan said with a smile. "I remember coming back from our first night out and we just cuddled up, it was kind of magical in a way."

Donovan, now 45, is a former DJ and works in cybersecurity. He describes Kirsty as "an amazing woman" who is "so intelligent." He adds, "We know each other so well, she’s my best friend as well as my wife."

As the couple prepares to renew their vows this Valentine’s Day at a special ceremony at Coventry Cathedral, they reflect on how a spontaneous message changed their lives forever. "I took my son for a suit fitting yesterday, and he absolutely loved it. Then my girl, she’s like, ‘I want to see Mummy get dressed up,’ she can’t wait," Donovan shared with excitement.