‘I just knew she was the one’
She is his first and true love. They met when he was 17. They have been together since. What is the secret of their successful and happy relationship?
“I was lucky, I won the lottery by finding the right person,” says Dempsey, 52. “But I do think communication is definitely important. You have to talk and don’t hold back.
“In a funny way, we probably get on now better than ever. When you have children, you concentrate on them, but now they are all grown-up, we have more time for ourselves. We laugh a lot together and enjoy each other’s company, which is great.”
Dempsey says he was “too shy” to talk to Ger when they first met, especially when he learned that she had a boyfriend. Six months later, he met her again, at the local St Patrick’s Day disco, in Drumcondra, Dublin.
“We connected, it’s as simple as that. I just knew she was the one,” he says. “And we have been together ever since.”
At the time, Dempsey was working at the Abbey Theatre, so got free tickets for their first date. They met in the Plough pub, beforehand, and Ger’s aunt came along, too.
“I think she wanted to check me out, make sure I was okay. But she must have approved of me, as she went back down the stairs and left us alone. After the play, we went to Pizzaland for something to eat and then went to the bus stop.
“We soon progressed from the bus stop to getting a taxi home. I would say to the driver: ‘I have 12 quid. When you get to that, stop the car.’ And then we would walk the rest of the way home. It was very romantic,” he says.
So is he romantic? “No, not particularly. But I always think there is no point being romantic just on Valentine’s Day, and then going back to being a miserable old sod for the rest of the year,” Dempsey says.
“I am not lovey dovey, but I think you should always remember why you got together in the first place.”
When Kelly Donegan first met her boyfriend, Dave Behan, a fitness trainer, on TV3’s reality show, Tallafornia, she was not impressed. She did not like him.
Two months later, in September 2011, they met again to record the show, and her opinion changed. “We were laughing and chatting, we talked about all kinds of topics, and concluded we had nearly everything in common. We had a whirlwind romance that I really wasn’t expecting,” she says.
“I was impressed by his romantic and fun-loving nature. He also had a cheeky look in his eye that kept me intrigued and, funny enough, he still has.”
Although they lived together for a month filming the show, Kelly says their first “official’ date was when the series had been shot and the cameras had stopped.
“I guess you could say we had to work backwards. We had to get to know each other all over again in the outside world, and away from the cameras and the drama of the show,” she says.
A year on, Kelly, 23, describes their relationship as “special” and says that Behan is the most “genuine and honest” person she has ever met.
“It’s been a turbulent year, being a couple in the spotlight, and it has brought a lot of obstacles, but also a lot of great, new experiences that we have got to face together,” she says.
Laughter is the key to Niamh Kavanagh’s 14-year relationship with her husband, Paul. He made her laugh when they first met and still makes her laugh, even in the middle of an argument.
“We get on so well. I love him so much, he just makes me laugh a million times a day, even when we are arguing,” she says.
“If we are apart because of work, there isn’t a day when we don’t speak to each other.”
They met in 1998 in Carrickfergus, Co Antrim, when Niamh was recording an album and Megahey was a guitarist in the band. She wasn’t looking for a relationship, but they got on very well and had the craic together.
“We just really fit together. It is very exciting, but calm. I think we both knew, quite early on, that this was what we wanted, maybe it was because we were older.
“I was 30 and he was 41, so we both knew by then exactly what we didn’t want. It just was very easy being with him, very natural,” she says.
They got married in 2003, in the company of their two children and 60 family and friends. It was the perfect weekend, singing and dancing and having the craic.
“For me, it wasn’t about the big dress. I didn’t want an engagement ring. I always lose jewellery.
“We had been living together and had two children, so were committed, but I was surprised at the difference it made to us as a couple. It was huge.
“I definitely felt more calm, and Paul says it absolutely made a difference to him, too. It felt really lovely, and, for us as a couple, showed everyone that we were really committed to each other,” she says.
So do they have any romantic plans for Valentine’s Day? Niamh says that the day before is more important to them, as it’s her birthday.
“I’m not one for the big romantic gestures, but we will celebrate my birthday.
“It’s always great craic,” she says.
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