Over the years, we have heard numerous captivating love stories, but none quite like this. In today's uncommon news, we have a tale of a nun and a monk who broke their vows of celibacy to marry in the United Kingdom after being in love for seven years. According to the BBC, Lisa Tinkler, formerly known as Sister Mary Elizabeth, fell in love with a guest monk 24 years after becoming a nun.
Their intriguing and unexpected romance began with an unintentional brush of sleeves, a little contact that prompted them to put their lives behind them and be one.
According to the report, Ms. Tinkler had been a nun since the age of 19 at a convent in Preston, Lancashire, belonging to the Carmelite Roman Catholic religious order. In 2015, she met Friar Robert, an Oxford-based Carmelite monk, at her convent and they unintentionally brushed sleeves. When they felt something, the accidental touch changed their entire world.
They had never met before and were all alone. Tinkler went over to see if Robert needed anything to eat. During his visits to the priory, she had simply heard him preach at mass. However, as Robert stood to leave, their sleeves unintentionally touched and Lisa felt a connection.
Ms Tinker told the BBC, "I just felt a chemistry there, something, and I was a bit embarrassed. And I thought, gosh, did he feel that too. And as I let him out the door it was quite awkward."
She also said, "I didn't know what it feels like to be in love and I thought the sisters could see it in my face. So I became quite nervous. I could feel the change in me and that scared me."
After Mr. Robert experienced the same connection, the two started to think about one another more and more, eventually leading to love sentiments. Mr. Robert then wrote Ms. Tinkler a message a week later, asking whether she would quit the order to marry him.
She also stated how she ultimately gathered the confidence to tell her prioress that she had feelings for Robert, only to be met with disdain.
She recalled, "She couldn't understand how it had happened because we were in there 24/7 under her watch all the time. The prioress asked how I could have fallen in love with so little contact."
"The prioress was little bit snappy with me, so I put my pants and a toothbrush in a bag and I walked out, and I never went back as Sister Mary Elizabeth," she added.
However, their love triumphed and the couple ultimately found their happy place in each other. The BBC reports that they are now happily married. They reside in a house in the village of Hutton Rudby, in North Yorkshire. Mr. Robert joined the Church of England and was appointed the local church's vicar, while Ms. Tinkler serves as a hospital chaplain.
