It may be reminiscent of the plot of 50 First Dates, but one young woman has had to learn to date her boyfriend all again after losing her memory due to a rare disorder.
Sophie Clayton, 27, from Surrey is still in the 'honeymoon phase' after three years with boyfriend Jonathan after suffering a nosebleed in 2019 and losing all her long-term memory.
The nosebleed triggered functional neurological disorder (FND), disconnecting her brain from her nervous system and causing her to lose her memory.
Within a few minutes of the nose bleed Sophie had forgotten everything up to that date, including her own name, her family and even her boyfriend, Jonathan Wilson, 27, who she'd been going out with for two-and-a-half years.
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As well as having to relearn how to use a knife and fork, Sophie also had to get to know Jonathan again, with the pair reliving the early days of their relationship.
With Sophie unable to recall any of their relationship so far, Jonathan took her back to their favourite haunts and places the couple used to go to when they first dated. Aww, you guys!
And the sweet experience worked out, with the couple soon falling in love again.
Sophie recently told podcast Real Fix that dating Jonathan again gave her the "butterflies" you usually get when you first meet someone.
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She told the podcast: "I feel like I'm in the honeymoon period again, and he's definitely not so we're on polar opposites at the minute."
Sophie added: "I would say that I feel like I have been able to meet him all over again. It's a really lovely feeling."
It was while Sophie was getting ready for a night shift for her job as emergency resource dispatcher for the London Ambulance Service that she suddenly had a nose bleed in November 2019.
She was rushed to hospital where doctors discovered she had Functional Neurological Disorder (FND), a condition where signals from the brain to the nervous system are interrupted.
It is likely that Sophie was born with the condition, and that the nose bleed triggered it by releasing the pressure on her brain, resulting in Sophie losing all her long term memory.
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She added: "I'd pretty much forgotten everything from the 6th of November to me being born."
"It ranged from really basic things like how to use a knife and fork to quite important things, like my mum and dad's names," she explained.
"My dad arrived first [at hospital] and the first thing I said was 'who is this man?'
"So the next day it would have been Jonathan. My mum had to introduce him to me as my boyfriend."
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After a short stay in hospital, Sophie returned home to her parents house and Jonathan began helping her to recreate some of the couple's favourite memories.
Dates included Kew Gardens, where Sophie and Jonathan first got together, and Bath Christmas Market, a place the couple went to in the early days of their relationship.
Jonathan also took Sophie to Richmond Park, the seaside and on a tour around London, in a bid to "date" her again.
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Though Sophie says she probably won't get her memory back, she is now focusing on looking to the future with Jonathan.
"I've come to terms with the fact I probably won't get my memory back, so that took quite some time to get used to," Sophie said. "But now I'm focusing on moving forward, rather than the past."
Featured Image Credit: SWNSTopics: Relationships, Life