A woman has revealed the rather unusual way she met her now-husband – after shouting “get off me, you old pervert” at him in the pub.
Sam Holmes was working as a bartender at the time of the “unexpected and very British” meet-cute.
The 38-year-old had climbed onto the pool table during a break when an older man grabbed her leg to pull her down – prompting her outburst at what she thought was a “grabby punter”.
But far from being the start of a row, the two laughed it off and got talking – before realising Matt, 48, was about to move into the shared home Sam lived in.
“I was a bit taken aback and in shock when I first met Matt,” Sam, a stay-at-home mum from Barnsley, told Need To Know.
“I didn’t see him as my usual type, so it wasn’t an instant romantic reaction – but I recognised him from around the local pub scene, and had heard he had a crush on me from friends.
“When I climbed onto the pool table, he grabbed my leg to pull me back down and I shouted, ‘Get off me , you old pervert!’
“Matt just laughed it off, shook his head and carried on joking.
“Rather than making it awkward, it became a bit of a joke between us.
“Later that night, one of my friend’s told me he’d said he was going to marry me one day.”
Sam had no idea that his prediction would be accurate – nor that they had anything in common, beyond a shared watering house.
It wasn’t until two months after meeting that they realised they were both living in the same building.
Sam had been living in an HMO (house in multiple occupation – a shared rental property between unrelated tenants) for three months at the time.
Ironically, she had used tenant-matching software COHO, which helps people find their most compatible housemates, to find the property – as had Matt.
After meeting at the pub, Sam and Matt, a brickyard supervisor originally from Rotherham, formed a friendship, often chatting on the phone late into the night.
It wasn’t until two months after meeting, while walking home from the pub one evening, that they realised they were living in the same building.
Sam said: “Matt asked me why I was walking up the path to where he lived – I didn’t know he was in the same building.
“I was shocked!”
Matt had previously been renting a two-bedroom house, but had moved into the HMO in March 2023 as the social aspect to communal living suited him better.
Meanwhile Sam had moved in earlier that year in 2023 after splitting from her ex, finding it an affordable alternative to renting solo.
There were only six people living in the building, but incredibly the two hadn’t crossed paths, with Matt leaving early for work, and Sam often staying in her room.
Soon, friendship blossomed into something more for the new housemates, a month into realising they lived together.
Sam said: “It happened quite naturally once everything clicked into place.
“There was something there before I fully realised it, and when I realised how close our connection had become, it didn’t take long for things to turn romantic.”
Despite living together amongst other people, they were able to make things work.
Sam said: “We just got on with day-to-day life like everyone else, helping out with chores and supporting the other tenants.”
While they kept their romance a secret at first, their other housemates cottoned on soon enough.
Sam added: “They joked that we had become the ‘mum and dad’ of the house because of how involved we were in keeping things running smoothly.
“If anything was broken or needed reporting, we would handle it.
“We’d keep things clean and tidy, and if anyone had any problems they came to us.
“We loved living in an HMO – it’s great for people just starting out as a couple and wanting to start a life living together, with a huge price difference [than renting your own flat].”
By December 2024, things had become serious, and Sam was thrilled when Matt proposed during a romantic bath.
Just a month later, they found out they were expecting their first child together – a baby boy, Devon, who they welcomed in September 2025.
The couple moved out of the HMO that December, and now live in their own rented house.
Sam said: “It feels a bit surreal looking back on how we met.
“Matt is my knight in shining armour, and came into my life and saved me when I didn’t think I could be saved.
“I was close to giving up on love before him.
“It’s so strange to think we could easily have never properly met even though we were living so closely.
“Now with a baby and home together, we feel so lucky with how it all worked out!”
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