Inverness businessman and his bride reveal how they found love online in later life and celebrated a perfect wedding in Costa Rica

When well-known Inverness businessman David Dowling joined an online dating agency, a quirky profile caught his attention.

It invited would-be dates to get in touch if they were the type to ride a motorbike across Paraguay.

It had been posted by Sharon Davidson who was learning how to flirt again after the death of her husband of 30 years.

David, the group chairman of the Cairngorm Group, meanwhile, was looking for a new start after becoming separated.

After texting daily, the pair finally met and despite living hundreds of miles apart - Sharon was in Southport - their relationship quickly developed.

Twelve years on, the couple have celebrated their “perfect” wedding on a beach in Costa Rica and say they would recommend online dating and marrying in later life.

They trace their story from posting their profiles online to saying “I do”

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Tell us about yourselves:

Sharon Davidson (66):

Children: Two sons and a daughter in the USA, Canada and England.

Originally with a family background in pubs and hotels, I travelled around the world a lot in my 20s living in Bahrain for a couple of years and also in Kent.

Eventually, I settled in my hometown of Southport to bring up the children where our lives included a lot of football as all our children played.

Latterly, I worked in logistics for a catalogue company and developed an interest in IT which led me to working with databases and resulted in a position at Raigmore when I moved to Inverness.

David Dowling (66):

Children: Two sons and a daughter.

Tragically, my daughter died in 2021 leaving a husband and three children. They have been remarkably resilient; we see them regularly and they are all doing well.

I left school aged 16 and started working in our family business Inverness Glass/Cairngorm Group in 1974, becoming managing director after my dad retired in 1999.

After moving to semi-retirement post-Covid pandemic, my sons Chris and Scott became joint managing directors who run the business with my long-term friend Graeme Bennett and finance director Paul Wilson.

Why did you turn to internet dating?

Sharon: My husband of 30 years died in 2011 and after supporting my mum until her death in 2013, I felt ready to rejoin the world.

I wanted a new start and my circle of friends in Southport knew me very much as part of a couple.

With encouragement from a good friend, I joined Match Affinity.com.

Having not kissed anyone other than my husband since the age of 22, I joined for a year as I needed to learn to flirt again. Total cost £147.

David: I became separated in December 2012 and after some time on my own decided to give internet dating a go.

At my age I thought it unlikely to walk into a bar and meet a future life partner.

I initially joined for a month for £20 thinking there was no point joining for a year as I would get snapped up quickly! Haha!

When did you come across each other - and what attracted you to each other?

Sharon: Match Affinity required each person to complete a psychometric test for them to find the best matches.

From recruiting experience, I have always found these to be reasonably accurate providing they are completed honestly.

Once completed, the algorithm would send matches for your consideration.

David and I were matched about a week after I joined the site with a 98 per cent match rate and started to chat via the site which maintained a high level of security.

We exchanged mobile numbers and texted daily along with plenty of photos.

We have a lot of similar views and interests and enjoy a good sense of humour.

We laughed a lot before we even spoke.

David: There are thousands of genuine ladies on internet dating. I communicated with a few and met up with a couple.

Many of the profiles are similar outlining hobbies, background and ambitions.

Sharon’s was completely unique. She said: “If you want to sit at home and watch your garden grow, I am not the girl for you. However, if you want to ride a motorbike across Paraguay, get in touch.”

I didn’t particularly but I loved the sentiment that life should be lived to the full and immediately got in touch.

How long was it before you met in person and what were your first impressions?

Sharon: We met about four weeks after first chatting online (September 2013).

I wouldn’t talk to him on the phone for several weeks as I was unsure if I would understand his accent!

We arranged to meet in Glasgow - which was roughly halfway for us -originally for coffee or lunch but it ended up being the weekend.

We had so much fun, I felt like a teenager again despite being 54!

David: I took to Sharon immediately and couldn’t wait for the next Friday to come to see her again.

How quickly did it become serious?

Sharon: Quite quickly. After our second weekend together we arranged to meet in Thailand for New Year.

Remember how difficult it is telling your parents you are in a serious relationship?

Telling the kids is another level!

I moved to Inverness after we had been dating for six months.

Every weekend in Glasgow was exciting and fun but incredibly tiring.

David: On my way to meet Sharon for the second time I received a phone call from a large customer wanting me to do a sales call for solar panels in Glasgow.

I had to either make a special trip the following week or take my new love on a sales call!

I mentioned it over dinner that evening.

Without pausing. she said: “Of course we will go tomorrow. That’s what’s paying for this dinner.”

I knew then that we had a real chance.

And we got the deal for a solar Installation - the customers really liked her which definitely helped.

Who proposed and where?

David: Although it may seem strange, I can’t remember specifically.

We discussed it, though, before Sharon moved to Inverness.

Sharon: Whilst we knew we would marry at some stage, there was no need to rush into it.

2025 was a good year for us to finally put our relationship on a formal footing.

You got married in Costa Rica - any special reason? How difficult/easy was it to arrange a wedding abroad?

David: We wanted somewhere warm and sunny that neither of us had been before.

Sharon: We had travelled around Argentina in a motorhome for five weeks and loved South America.

Costa Rica was always on our list to visit so we looked at our options to get married there.

We booked through a travel agent thinking the language barrier and legalities would be easier for all the communication that would be necessary.

In retrospect, we simply built in an extra layer of bureaucracy trying to talk to the wedding planning department which wouldn’t take phone calls.

It would have been a lot easier to contact the resort hotel directly or found a wedding planner in Costa Rica.

Once we were given the correct email for the resort wedding planner, everything moved a lot more smoothly.

On arrival, they couldn’t have been more helpful and accommodating.

Who attended?

David: We were completely blown away by the response from family and friends.

Given the11-hour flight and overall cost, we had no real expectation that many would be able to attend.

There were some who would like to have joined us but couldn’t make it work.

Nevertheless, four of my close golfing friends came with their wives, our good friends from Brora, Kevin and Deirdre along with her daughter and plus one as well as Sharon’s three children with a partner and a husband. In the end, the total was 19.

Sharon: It was really important to me to have my three children and their partners there as we so rarely manage to all get together, living in different countries.

What are your memories and highlights of the big day?

David: If there is such a thing as a perfect wedding day, this was it.

Getting married in the sunshine, on the beach, surrounded by so many family and friends was everything we hoped for and more.

The hotel went out of its way for us including shutting one of the dining rooms so we could enjoy private dining.

Mind you with five of us in kilts we did create something of a stir with many requests for selfies!

Sharon: As David says, we could not have asked for anything more. Perfect!

Thoughts on internet dating/marrying later in life?

Sharon: I can totally recommend it.

In later life, you have so much more confidence about the sort of relationship you want, and you are not looking for the same things that you were in your 20s.

For us, our relationship is based on honesty and trust, love and laughter and total commitment to each other with a desire to live every day to the full.

David: I can’t add anything to Sharon’s comments. She has summed it up perfectly.

Some couples are reluctant to acknowledge they met online. What is your response?

David: Internet dating offers you the possibility of meeting people you would never ordinarily come across, a far wider circle than your immediate locality.

Sharon was living in Southport, and I am in Inverness.

Without the internet there is zero chance we would ever have met.

You can get to know a fair bit about a person before you decide if you want to meet up.

You can reveal as much or as little about yourself as you feel is appropriate and move as quickly or as slowly as you feel comfortable with.

Sharon: So many people of all ages meet via the internet these days.

So long as you are honest in your communication and aware of your safety, it is a really easy way to meet people.

What would your advice be to people in later life looking for love?

David: Just go for it!

If using the internet, exercise all the usual cautions about how much information you reveal and definitely don’t send anyone money after listening to a sob story.

Be honest about your hopes and aspirations.

By our second date, I explained I couldn’t leave Inverness because of my business, and I was so relieved that Sharon wanted to move on from Southport.

They say opposites attract but how often do they stay together?

We share the same sense of humour, values and love travelling the world finding more unusual destinations.

Especially in later life, I would say wanting to spend retiral doing the same things together is crucial.

Sharon: David sums it up perfectly.

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