Siobhan Greene had one goal for 2023 and that was to put herself out there.
After more than two years of enjoying the single life, the 31-year-old had decided to take a chance by attending a meet-up of a new LGBT+ group she had joined online in a bid to make new pals and new experiences.
The group was made up of 1,000 people from around the UK and Siobhan decided to take a risk and join a couple of the ladies she’d forged friendships with via the Facebook group in real life by attending a Blackpool meet-up.
There Siobhan met Kelly Caven and her whole life changed.
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“I didn’t think she liked me at first,” Siobhan, from Paisley, told our sister title The Glasgow Times, “and turns out she didn’t think I liked her either.”
“I had never, ever done anything like that before but I had seen that other people had so I knew it wasn’t like a catfish or dangerous situation.
“I said I’m going to put myself out there, I’m going to go down south and meet these people and just give this a go.
“I ended up making incredible friends and falling in love.”
She added: “It really is helping change lives and create a safe place for people.
“There’s a wide range of gay, lesbian, and trans people. There’s no negativity or judgement and we have really become close.
“A lot of people are still struggling with their sexuality and this a great place to find like-minded people.”
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Siobhan and her partner Kelly, 41, now spend their days between their homes in Paisley and England.
They’re so grateful to the group for introducing them, they’ve now partnered with Katie’s Bar and Polo Lounge for a mega meet-up for next month’s Mardi Gla event.
The Glasgow Pride event will take place on July 15 with different activities taking place throughout the city.
The group will march through the city with their very own Girls of Pride banner as they celebrate the group, which they described as a “sheer joy” almost nine months after it started.
Siobhan said: “The success of couples, engagements and friendship stories are so heartwarming.
“We would like to spread the positivity and promote the group more due to having so many positive comments and feedback we would like to share.
“It started with 1,000 people when I joined at the beginning of the year and now, we’re nearly at 6,000 and we’re still growing. We’ve got people from all over the world now.”
To find out more about the events organised by the Girls of Pride for Mardigla visit their Facebook page.
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