Love Stories: Suzanne Noble and Bob Deakin

Jobs: Social entrepreneur and project manager 

Ages: Suzanne is 58, Bob is 62

Live: Kilburn

Length of time together: 17 months 

Status: Official 

The meet-cute

Suzanne: We met on Tinder. I said I was looking for a regular weekend date, meaning I didn’t want anyone with an eye on living together. I also mentioned a few other men I was seeing casually. Bob didn’t seem put off so we went to Brindisa in Borough Market for our first date. 

He remembers we had a kiss at London Bridge station before taking the Tube back to our respective homes, which he rightly surmised as being a good sign! That night he put a heart on the day we met in his paper diary.

First impressions

Suzanne: I thought Bob was quirky and cute and I was glad he looked like his profile pic. We had a lot in common, children of a similar age and both going back to our creative passions (him painting, me singing) within the last year. He had just submitted a painting to the Royal Academy Summer Show with the hope of getting in and I’d started taking singing lessons. We both like a nice glass of red wine.

Not my type on paper

Bob: I don’t really have a type but my usual doesn’t have pink hair. Suzanne was unrestrained and fun on our first date and I loved her huge social circle and full engagement with life.

The dating game

Bob: We’ve been to Italy, the Canaries and the Cotswolds together and shortly we’ll be going to New York. 0,75 in Kilburn is our favourite local pizza place, and we love the Royal Academy, the Green Note in Camden and the number 31 bus.

Success story  

Suzanne: My kids, now 25 and 27, are delighted that I’ve finally met someone with whom they can see me settling down: they joke that I’ve had more success on Tinder than any of their mates. Bob and I have been together for more than a year — both of us had been online dating for a number of years before we stumbled across one another.

Best and worst

Suzanne: Bob has a wry sense of humour and can be quite sarcastic. He has an internal dialogue that can go one way or the other and generally avoids confrontation. I don’t have a problem saying what’s on my mind so it’s a bit of a challenge teasing out of him anything that is bothering him.

Right up my street

Suzanne: I always wanted a partner who I live with at weekends. Bob comes and stays with me Friday to Monday. He now lives on the same street so we meet once midweek too.

The L-bomb

Bob: I recall a conversation after about six months where I said, “I note neither of us have used the ‘L’ word. Why is that, do you think?” We then gave ourselves permission to use it and have done since. 

Next steps

Suzanne: We’d love to spend more time travelling and pursuing our creative lives. We’re building a garden studio in my back garden so that Bob can paint, and my pianist and myself have a place to rehearse.

❤To tell your love story, email londonlovestories@standard.co.uk