How POST’s Lonely Hearts column created a 33-year marriage

IN 1992, a young Christian woman took a chance on POST's Lonely Hearts column. Three decades later, Sean and Pamela Singh share their remarkable journey from newspaper advertisement to lasting love, proving that sometimes the perfect match is just a letter away.

- MONISHKA GOVENDER

The couple said they took a chance 33 years ago when they wrote in to the POST's Lonely Hearts, in the hopes of finding “the one”.

Pamela, 57, said she was 25 years old at the time, and had just come out of a relationship because of differences in religion.

She said her friend suggested she write to the newspaper.

“I was in a relationship which did not work out. I needed to meet someone who shared the same interests, including my religion. That's when my close friend told me to write to Lonely Hearts,” said Pamela.

So in 1992, with the help of her friend, Pamela wrote the following advert: “Young, Christian, single lady looking for a committed relationship.”

She said: “My mother always said ‘don’t take chances with pen friends, they lie to young girls’. I cannot remember my pen name because my friend actually wrote on my behalf.”

After her advert was published, Pamela, who was working as a receptionist at the time, got many responses. One of them was from Sean, who had a business in Ladysmith.

“I received an envelope from the POST containing lots of letters (replies) to the advert. The first letter I picked up was Sean’s and it had a contact number. So I decided to reply to him.”