A woman is expecting a baby with her window cleaner after they fell in love over cups of tea.
Gemma Stephenson, 36, first noticed Sean Nodwell, 37, when he was working on her neighbor's home.
After enlisting his help with her own windows, the pair struck up a friendship during breaks, which soon turned into stronger feelings.
Two years later, the couple are now preparing to welcome their first baby together, with Stephenson four-and-a-half months pregnant.
The massage therapist, who lives in North Yorkshire, England, with her two children from a previous relationship, said: "We are happier than ever to be having our first baby together.
"Everything seems to be coming together perfectly and our baby is happy and healthy which is a total blessing. Life can surprise you in the best way when you least expect it and you really don't know what the future may bring, but things happen how they are supposed to and we are now happier than ever.
"I'm so glad I took him on to clean my windows, I can't wait to start our family together and our baby will definitely be supporting Manchester United like us."
After briefly meeting Nodwell when he was hard at work across the road from her home, single mom Stephenson decided to employ him to help clean the windows of her own house.
Though inviting him over on a strictly professional basis, she couldn't help but be charmed by his helpful nature when he offered a hand as she struggled with bringing in shopping bags from her car.
She said: "I first saw Sean in my next-door neighbors' garden as I was coming from the car with my weekly shop.
"He said hello to me in a soft Scouse accent and offered to help me with the shopping which was really sweet but to which I politely declined. At this point, I thought that was a really nice gesture, as I had been a single mom for many years and was used to doing this kind of thing by myself," she said.
"A few weeks later, I saw him again on my estate and he asked how I was doing and offered me his window cleaning service in the future, to which I agreed as my neighbor had also recommended him.
"Out of the blue, approximately a week or so later, he walked into my garden carrying his ladders and a bucket and made a cheeky remark, saying, 'Alright, love, I've come to clean your windows for you.'
"While he started work, he shouted down to me, 'Any chance of a brew like haha,' so I made him a cuppa and he came down and we started talking about our lives.
"The next time he came round, he was full of smiles and genuinely seemed happy in himself and we continued our regular brews and chats together in the garden during him working.
"I enjoyed seeing Sean because he always made me laugh and we would talk about the most crazy things, from music to kids to gardening."
Nodwell eventually stopped cleaning Stephenson's windows with a career change in mind, and they didn't see each other for several months.
The goodbye turned out to only be the beginning for the pair as newly-single Nodwell, who had just split with his wife, got in touch the following week to say he was free for the weekend and wanted to see Stephenson.
"He contacted me seeing what I was doing and he said he was looking forward to the weekend as he had been busy at work and didn't have much planned," she said.
"We continued to chat a bit more until half an hour into the conversation, he said 'I'm going to get a train now and come see you, is that OK?'
"That night, we chatted until the early hours of the morning, playing poker, having a few drinks and laughing like teenagers."
From that first weekend in June 2021, the pair continued to meet up regularly and enjoyed trips to Blackpool and Wakefield on the weekends. They visited karaoke bars and restaurants, staying in hotels and going for spa days together.
After eight months of bliss, Stephenson and Nodwell couldn't believe it when they found out that Stephenson was pregnant in February, but are now happier than ever.
They're expecting a boy in November and plan to name their son after Nodwell's grandfather.
Nodwell, who now works as a warehouse operative, said: "Gemma and I, we're going well.
"Finding out we had a baby on the way was a bit of a shock to the system.
"We found out yesterday we're having a baby boy - we're calling him Joseph, not after the technicolor dreamcoat, but Joseph my granddad.
"You never know when you're going to meet someone.
"I'm looking forward to bringing Joseph up and being a happy, normal family, and he could be a Manchester United fan too."
Stephenson said: "The good times just didn't seem to end. We were living a carefree life of fun, passion and excitement - it was like a rollercoaster and the ride just got better.
"We met up whenever we had free time and then I discovered that I was pregnant and went into total shock mode!
"Four months later, we are happier than ever to be having our first baby together."
This story was provided to Newsweek by Zenger News.
