The second time Abbey met Sam, he had his two children with him. Sam felt that he was probably more
nervous than Abbey "Here was I trying to impress and I had these two children."
Abbey was only 21 years old at the time. She told her Mum about the relationship first, who said
"Fine. We won't tell your Dad." Her father took more time to accept the relationship, and
looking back, Abbey feels that her Dad just wanted the best for her. Sam knew that in Abbey's
father's eyes, he was not the ideal partner, but has now come to realise how happy they
are together.
It wasn't all plain sailing. Abbey had absolutely no experience with children before meeting Sam.
Not even baby-sitting. She had been seeing Sam for about a month, when they took Rebecca and
Samantha out for the day. Sam suddenly said "Samantha wants a wee. Will you take her?" Abbey
recalls the feeling of complete helplessness, "What can she do? Can she sit on the toilet seat?
I didn't honestly know what they could do, and that was frightening!"
The response from other people was rarely encouraging "Everyone I meet says I'd never do that. I'd
never go with a man with children." Sam, however, appreciates the way Abbey has coped with
his two daughters. In the early stages of their relationship one child used to get up 12 to 14 times a night. Abbey remembers "It was two
o'clock in the morning, and she was wanting to get in bed. It was a nightmare really, but now
she's just so much fun - but going from nothing to two children of such a young age, it was quite hard."
When Abbey and Sam decided to get married they explained what was happening to Rebecca and Samantha.
"They both just accepted it .. They'd shout 'Daddy & Abbey', which made us wonder what other
people thought!"
Abbey explains what it is for her that has made an instant family a reality "I don't see it as a
responsibility. If you meet somebody, and the child puts you off, then you're not in love with
the person. You can't be, because whatever that person brings into the relationship, if you love them enough, it doesn't matter."
