After one’s own heart

Of course this all on hinges on you finding and hooking a veggie mate – or does it?

And it is possible, as Debbie Matthews, 27, from London, knows: “My partner Terrence (21) is now vegan. When I met him he was a steak-loving South African meat-eater, and I was vegan and a vocal animal rights activist. The night I met him at a party, he said in a big loud voice at a table of about 10 people ‘why are you vegetarian?’, which produced a barrage of harassment from his male friends ‘don’t you just crave a big plate of bacon?’ type stuff.
It took about one year for him to go veggie and he went vegan quickly after that, though he’s a pretty open-minded guy. I basically shared a lot of info with him, he watched AR videos with me etc and he made up his own mind. I made it clear I didn’t want him eating meat around me, and he did kiss me once after eating meat which was disgusting so I stopped seeing him for a few weeks after that. But he is now an activist as well and we both go to animal rights protests together. It’s really cool!”

Jo Randall, 33, knows how she feels: “When I met my partner Simon (33) I was in my early twenties; shy, lacking in confidence and strong in only one area – my vegetarianism. He wasn’t a vegetarian but we fell for each other anyway and I was swept away. A few months along the line he announced that he would like a vegetarian meal the same as me...and has never eaten meat since! To me it was a wonderful omen and we were engaged within the year. I’ve had to put up with people commenting that I ‘made’ Simon go vegetarian, but this was never the case as we were too wrapped up with each other during our precious weekends to discuss important environmental issues like that!

“We have now been married for nine years and live in beautiful Devon with our small menagerie of rescue animals. Three years ago Simon himself suggested that with our ethics and strong feelings on the subject we should become vegan, and that’s what we did that very day. We have been very happily vegan since that time, and even our families are used to the idea now. Eating is now a wonderful and creative hobby instead of a dull necessity!

“If Simon had remained a carnivore, I don’t know how our relationship would have worked after the first mad flush of love had settled down. The thought now of kissing anyone who has just eaten bits of dead animal is sickening. As it is I have found my perfect soul-mate; someone who is compassionate, environmentally aware, kind, thoughtful, full of love and a true friend of the planet...he truly is my ‘Mr Right’!”

Not many stories from men there but poet Benjamin Zephaniah says it all: “A vegan kiss is really special, a vegan kiss is where it’s at, a vegan kiss is very luving, for it contains no animal fat.”

Are you a veggie or vegan trying to make things work with a meat-eating partner? Or maybe you’ve managed to convert your other half? Are you soooo much in love you don’t mind a smacker from someone’s choppy chops? Or are you single and (im)patiently waiting for your veggie Prince/ss Charming to come along? Whatever your love story, Viva! wants to hear from you. Tell your tale to Michelle: michelle@viva.org.uk

Wear your heart on your sleeve! | Go veggie – get va-va-voom! | After your own heart | Everything but the boy/girl | How loved up are you? | More info