It might be an unlikely setting for romance, but love is firmly in the air on the aisles of Asda Enniskillen this week with not one but SIX married couples on the team preparing for Valentine’s Day.

With 79 years of wedded bliss between them, the couples all say working together at the Co Fermanagh superstore gives a boost to married life.

Trudy Taylor was a supervisor at Asda Enniskillen when she met future-husband Bob 25 years ago.

“We lived in the same area of the town, and we used to bump into each other a lot,” she said.

placeholder image — Diane and Gareth McManus

“Then at some dance or another he approached me at the end of the night, and that was it.

"We were married three years later.”

With Bob later joining his wife at Asda, the family connection didn’t stop there.

Trudy, now a customer manager, says: “Our oldest son Jamie works here too, so there’s a lovely family feeling at the store, although our second boy John hasn’t joined the team – yet!

“This Valentine’s Day Bob and I will both be working, but we’re more than happy to be here – and we’ll be sure to get a meal out together to celebrate, we always mark the day. I’m happy to say that what drew me to Bob in the first place, his lovely kind nature, is still the same as it was all those years ago – even when we’re working!”

George colleague Michelle Howard and her husband Glen, a general merchandise colleague at the store, met on a weekend away in Glasgow 14 years ago.

Michelle says: “We were from the same town and when we got home, we kept in touch and romance blossomed. I was already working at Asda and Glen joined me a few years later. I’m glad to say we’d been colleagues for a good while before we got married in 2018, so we were obviously doing something right!

“Since then, we’ve had two children, Saoirse, six, and three-year-old Oisin, and we find working together is great. It’s sometimes a good opportunity to talk away from all the busy goings-on at home with the kids and everything else! Valentine’s Day for us this year should be a good one, as we’re getting away for the weekend with another couple.”

For Susan and Neil McShea, it was love in the aisles when the pair met on night shifts.

Susan, a George colleague, says: “We met 16 years ago, and now have four children – Joseph, 11, John, 10, Jacob, seven, and four-year-old Isabella. In the midst of all that we got married in 2020.

“While we were both on nights when we met, I now work early shifts and Neil does lates so it can feel like we’re ships passing in the night sometimes. But it works for our family and having the connection through work, as well as everything else, is lovely.

“This year, we had our Valentine’s celebrations early with a lovely weekend just the two of us as it was my birthday last week.”

Another couple who found love in store were Lisa and Fraser McLean.

Online trading manager Lisa says: “After meeting at work, we got married in January 2017. Back when we met, we worked the same shifts, but that’s changed over the years with Fraser now on nights and me on days. It was nice while it lasted! This weekend we’ll both be working on Valentine’s Day, but we won’t let it go by unmarked, and we’ll both be expecting a nice gift from the other.”

General merchandise team leader Marie Collings and her husband Simon, a home shopping colleague have been married for 16 years and share four children.

Marie says: “We don’t see much of each other at work as we do different shifts, but we’ve coordinated our holiday time this year and have a week off together, which means we’ll get to celebrate Valentine’s Day together, with a romantic dinner at home.”

Diane and home shopping colleague Gareth McManus have been married for 18.

“Working together is great – we’re in different departments so I don’t see him!” jokes Diane, who has 20 years’ service in the counters department. “We’ve been together 30 years in all, and we’ve got four children and four grandchildren to keep us busy when we’re outside work too!”

Simon Harron, Community Champion at Asda Enniskillen, said: “It’s lovely to have so many happy couples on the team here at the store. Each and everyone of them is a great asset to us, and all these strong relationships in the mix contributes to the lovely family feeling we’ve got here at Asda Enniskillen.”