WHEN Jennifer McGowan first spotted Andy Smith, there was something about him that caught her eye. To be fair it was hard to miss – a giant Yes tattoo on his back. When his picture popped up on Instagram, she commented: “I love this guy’s tattoo”.
For four years, she thought nothing more of it. Then, at the end of 2017, she received a direct message from a stranger. Not only was he a die-hard independence supporter, but they had lots of other things in common too.
Andy says: "I was instantly drawn to her as she had the same interests and beliefs I had on making Scotland a free and better nation." It helped that she supported the same football team, too.
Jennifer says: “It was actually him that said to me ‘I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I actually started following you on Instagram four years ago because you left a comment on my tattoo’.”
Serendipitously, it turned out that although Jennifer was living in Kirkcaldy and Andy was from Falkirk, he’d been working at a retail park just five minutes away from her home. They were also both 29, with birthdays exactly one month apart.
“Obviously you’re hesitant about meeting people online,” said Jennifer, “but something just felt right, so we decided to meet through in Falkirk at the end of March, and we just hit it off. It was just like a male version of me and a female version of him, we just clicked and bonded ... and the wee story was nice."
Andy got his tattoo in the week following the 2014 referendum, and the following year Jennifer got a sleeve tattoo bearing the slogan "One of the 45%" and the date of the vote. These days they attend Yes rallies as a duo, and made sure to get a snap of themselves together after the huge May march in Glasgow.
Next up are Dundee in August followed by Edinburgh in October. If you see the couple on the march with their his and hers ink on show, don't forget to give them a wave!
Did you meet your partner – or maybe a best friend – through Yes campaigning? Tell us your story!
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