Julie Holman had given up on men but as a last resort she placed an advert in the Daily Echo. She tells Vicky Green how she found true love

Julie Holman's relationship with her boyfriend of three years had just finished and she was feeling lonely and depressed. She had reached a point in her life where she wanted to settle down with someone, but after dating so many frogs, she had lost all hope of finding her prince.

"I was very down when my relationship finished," Julie, 30, from Totton recalls. "I'd had bad experiences with men and I wanted a serious relationship with someone.

"I was flicking through the Daily Echo when I came across the dating ads.

"I thought 'why not do one myself', so I wrote one and sent it off to the paper."

In her advert Julie described herself as 'blonde haired, 5ft 7in, medium build woman who would like to meet a guy for nights in and evenings out. Must like cats'.

"I own six cats and am completely fanatical about them," she smiles. "It was very important for me to find a man who shared my love of cats.

"My advert went in on November 25, 1998. A few days later a bundle of letters arrived for me.

"I went through them, eliminating the ones who weren't suitable. I phoned a few up but I didn't like the sound of them when I spoke to them.

"They sounded as if they were out for what they could get which is not what I wanted.

"A letter from a Andy Holman caught my eye. He sounded very sweet and down to earth so I eventually plucked up the courage to give him a call.

"When I spoke to him he seemed really genuine and like me, he'd had a number of bad relationships in the past.

"He'd replied to a number of other women through the small ads but none of them were what he was looking for.

"He had decided that he would reply to my ad and if that didn't work out, then that would be the last one and he'd give up."

Julie and Andy arranged to meet up at Julie's flat.

"I know it's probably the wrong thing to do," says Julie. "I should have met him in public, but I'd told my mum what I was doing and I just had a good feeling about Andy.

"He came round at 6.30 that evening and didn't leave until midnight. We talked all that time. Although we didn't have much in common, we got on like old friends.

"When he kissed me, it felt wonderful. From that first night I knew I was falling for him and that he was my soulmate."

After that first date, Julie and Andy, 40, a property inspector for Southampton City Council, saw each other every day.

"I looked on Andy as my best friend as well as my lover," she says. "After a month of being together I proposed to him.

"It felt completely natural. Marriage came up in conversation as I asked him if he would consider getting married.

"Andy replied 'Are you asking?'. So I formally proposed to him and he accepted."

The couple set their wedding date for February 12 1999 at Southampton Register Office. The wedding would take place four months after they first met.

"Andy's work mates and our families thought we were rushing into it and that we wouldn't last," she says. "But we were determined to prove them wrong.

"Our wedding day was wonderful and the happiest day of our lives. It felt like nothing could go wrong with our lives."

But things took a turn for the worst at Christmas 2000 when Andy found a lump on his testicle, which turned out to be cancerous.

"Andy didn't tell me anything about it until after Christmas - he said that he didn't want to ruin our Christmas," Julie says.

"I was devastated. I had just found the love of my life and now there was a possibility that he could die of cancer.

"But fortunately his operation was successful. Sadly, we can never have children but we are considering IVF as an option.

"We are very much in love. I never realised that simply placing an advert in the Daily Echo could lead to me finding the love of my life."

Have you found love through the Daily Echo? We would like to hear from you if you have, contact feature writer Vicki Green on 023 8042 4711 or email vicki.green@soton-echo.co.uk