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Episode details

World Service,18 Aug 2025,40 mins

Amazing Love Stories: A second chance at first love

Outlook

Available for over a year

Outlook presents: Amazing Love Stories. Over the next two weeks we've curated a collection of love stories from around the world and in all its guises - puppy love that falters and finds its feet again, longing through wars and exile, and romance that blooms in the most unexpected places. These are stories of love in all its forms - messy, beautiful, sometimes heartbreaking. But always human, surprising and unforgettable. Kevin and Debi met as teenagers in the 1960s, while auditioning for a high school musical. They quickly fell in love and after learning Debi was pregnant, they made plans to elope. However, those dreams of a future together as a family were interrupted when Debi's parents discovered the pregnancy and she was sent to a home for unwed mothers. Kevin joined the marines in the hopes of providing for his new family but when he was away, Debi was persuaded to place her baby daughter, Val for adoption. Kevin received the news in a letter before being deployed to Vietnam where he was severely wounded. The former high school sweethearts lost contact and started different lives. Despite the trauma and separation, Kevin never stopped loving Debi or thinking about the child they had lost. Years passed, marriages, children, careers, but the memory of that first love remained. Then, forty years later, Debi was able to track down Val online. Mother and daughter were reunited and after that first meeting, the conversation turned to Kevin. After some internet sleuthing, they tracked him down, leading to a big reunion and a romance rekindled. Presenter: Asya Fouks Producer: Thomas Harding Assinder Get in touch: [email protected] or WhatsApp +44 330 678 2707 (Photo: Kevin and Debi. Credit: Kevin and Debi)

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