After some disastrous dates and a six-year search for love,

Claire Cale finally found her Prince Charming – complete with

his own castle. But what about the rest of womankind? Is it

really so hard to meet Mr Right? Richard Bramwell finds out

IT SOUNDS like a story straight from the pages of Bridget

Jones's Diary.

Claire Cale – pretty, successful, in the prime of her life –

turns up for a first date with a man she's met through a

singles website.

And when she gets to the bar, she discovers there's truth in

the old saying that three's a crowd. Because his ex is there

too.

“I couldn't believe it,” says Claire. “She was firing

questions at me and giving me evils. They clearly weren't over

each other.

“We were having drinks and it probably lasted about 35

minutes, but it felt like three hours.”

Then there was the man who described himself online as tall,

dark, handsome and athletic.

“When he turned up, he was 10 years older than he said he

was, exceptionally ugly and morbidly obese,” recalls Claire. “I

know it's about the person inside, but it was unbelievable. He

ordered three starters.”

The list of disappointments went on, she says. The

compulsive liar, the control freak, the thief and the stalker;

29-year-old Claire dated them all.

After six years looking for love online, it's little wonder

she'd given up on finding the man of her dreams.

Then a message from Robin MacDonald caught her eye. They

emailed for two weeks and on their first date last year went to

pretty Caverswall Castle. Claire thought it was a National

Trust tourist attraction; it was, in fact, multi-millionaire

Robin's bachelor pad. Now the couple are living happily ever

after.

“When he said, 'Welcome to my humble abode' I was taken

aback,” says Claire, originally from Sutton Coldfield and a

former sales and marketing professional who earned £70,000 a

year.

“Despite what people might think, it's not about the money.

We both love health and fitness, we are vegetarian and we're

very driven.

“In one sense, it's a lot easier for women to look for Mr

Right now because of the internet. But so many guys will mess

you around.

“This is a dream come true but you don't have to live in a

castle to be a princess. It's about being treated with

respect.”

While Claire had to meet more than her fair share of

unsuitable fellas first, she's not alone.

Potteries-born TV presenter Wendy Turner-Webster, aged 39,

is now happily married to actor Gary Webster, aged 43, and the

couple live in Surrey with their two sons.

Theirs was a fairytale romance too – they met in panto in

Cambridge 11 years ago, when Wendy was starring as Maid Marian

and Gary as Robin Hood.

But Wendy, pictured left, from Norton, says there

were some “dodgy blokes” before him.

“When I moved down to London, I was working for a company

which produced videos. We were invited to an Oscars party and I

was looking for love,” she says. “I put my glad rags on and had

too much to drink.

“I got chatted up by this chap who told me he was an

American casting director in the movies. This all seemed very

exciting and one thing led to another and we went back to my

little London flat.

“But in the morning, it transpired this bloke wasn't an

American casting director. He was a gas man. He lived in North

London and asked me for £10 for a taxi home.

“In relationships, I think you have to go through the bad to

appreciate the good.

“Some people fall in love at 16 and that's it, but most of

us have to go through a load of dodgy blokes to get the knight

in shining armour at the end of it.”

Aly Davidson, from Stone, reckons she's one of the lucky

few. The 47-year-old met her husband John, aged 49, when she

was just nine.

They tied the knot at 16 and they've been together ever

since.

“I think it's tough for a lot of women,” says Aly, who

coaches people to improve their lives through her 100 Wishes

business.

“I think you'll never love anybody as much as your first

love, but they usually come along at a time when you're not

looking for a relationship.

“I find that career women today are too fussy, and don't

realise it's not about give and take. It's about give – and

making sure that person is number one in your life

forever.”

Becoming A Princess, by Claire L Cale, will be launched at a

private party at Caverswall Castle on August 15.