To make sure you never miss out on your favourite NEW stories, we're happy to send you some reminders

Click 'OK' then 'Allow' to enable notifications

Man Recreates Two Years' Worth Of Dates For Girlfriend After She Completely Lost Her Memory

Man Recreates Two Years' Worth Of Dates For Girlfriend After She Completely Lost Her Memory

This is amazing.

Ciara Sheppard

Ciara Sheppard

We've all seen 50 First Dates, but now the the rom-com has imitated real life after a man had to make his girlfriend fall in love with him again after she lost her memory.

It all began in November 2019 when Sophie Clayton, 26, suffered a nosebleed.

Within minutes, she had forgotten her phone's pin code, the date and her name. But perhaps most scarily of all, she'd completely forgotten who her boyfriend of two-and-a-half years, Jonathan Wilson, was.

Sophie's memory was wiped clean. She was rushed to hospital where doctors diagnosed her with rare disorder, disconnecting her brain from her nervous system, which had been triggered by the nosebleed.

Following her diagnosis, Sophie was tasked with rebuilding her life, even learning to walk again, and right by her side was Jonathan, 26.

Sophie and Jonathan had been dating for two-and-a-half years before the incident (
SWNS)

As emergency resource dispatcher Sophie had no idea who he was, the doting boyfriend made a photo album of their memories and recreated some of their most special dates.

"My friends have said that our relationship is just like 50 First Dates and I can definitely see the resemblance!" said Sophie.

"When everything happened, I felt shocked, confused and sad knowing I had forgotten everything and especially not knowing why.

"My condition is quite rare so they are still doing research into it and it's really frustrating that they can't tell me why this happened or what caused it.

"I feel so upset that I've lost 26 years of memories that made me the person I am but I'm looking forward to recreating new ones with everyone I love.

"I'm falling back in love with Jonathan all over again which is so lovely.

"Although I am sad that I have forgotten all these things that I've done before, it is quite special getting to see things for the first time with Jonathan.

"Just the other day, he took me to see the beach for the 'first' time - it was amazing.

"Doctors can't say if my memory will ever come back, so for now it's like my life started three months ago, but I'm just focusing on making new memories rather than pining for the old ones."

Jonathan has been taking Sophie to their special date locations (
SWNS)

Explaining the traumatic moment her life changed, Sophie - who lives with her parents in Surrey - said: "I don't normally have nosebleeds, but I didn't think it was really anything to worry about.

"My nose had been bleeding for about 15 to 20 minutes and I was waiting in the kitchen with my mum for it to stop when blood suddenly started pouring out of my left eye.

"Mum sat me down on the kitchen floor and my left side went completely weak.

"She phoned for an ambulance as she thought I'd had a stroke and I asked her for my phone so I could ring work and let them know I wouldn't be coming in.

"Mum gave me my phone and I went to type my PIN in to unlock the screen and I just couldn't remember the numbers - my mind had gone blank.

"I was still trying to remember when the ambulance arrived a few minutes later and they asked me a few things like what the date was and I couldn't tell them.

"I couldn't even remember what my name was when they asked me - it was terrifying."

Sophie before her nosebleed (
SWNS)

Sophie continued: "It was like my brain had been wiped clean, I couldn't remember anything, I had no idea who anybody was, and I didn't even know my name or how old I was.

"A man came into the hospital to see me and I said 'I don't know who he is' - it turned out to be my dad.

"As mum had been with me all the time, I knew that I must know her but I didn't recognise that she was my mum.

"Jonathan was the last person I had texted, so I think I knew I had a boyfriend but not who he was exactly - I just kept asking my mum if she'd told 'that man' what had happened.

"When he arrived at the ward and my mum introduced us, I instantly started crying because I was so desperate to remember him but I couldn't.

"Jonathan told me that he loved me and I said that I loved him too, and then he held my hand whilst my dad explained everything the doctors had said so far.

"The past 26 years of my life had just disappeared from my memory.

"I had no recollection of who I was before waking up in the hospital.

"I was in a room full of strangers including myself and it was absolutely terrifying."

Sophie is learning to walk again (
SWNS)

Although she can't remember him, Sophie's besotted boyfriend has gone above and beyond to help rebuild her life.

"Jonathan has driven me around London to see all the sights that we had been to together previously and shown me all of the landmarks I had forgotten," she says.

"He took me to the Bath Christmas Market where we had one of our first ever dates and even back to Kew Gardens where he had first asked me to be his girlfriend.

"I'm learning to walk again and I'd love to go back to work one day and return to running, but even just to walk on the beach rather than sit in my wheelchair would be incredible.

"My speech has been affected and I have had to learn small things again like how to write, hold my knife and fork and even how to brush my hair.

"Sometimes I feel like I don't actually have the condition but then I soon come to the realisation that it's happened - I have to come to terms with it and hopefully try and help others who are in the same position."

Sophie while she was still in hospital (
SWNS)

Jonathan says he felt "helpless" after the incident.

"It was absolutely devastating learning what happened to Sophie," he says.

"The feeling of helplessness was definitely present and being unable to help her or do anything was horrendous.

"I was really nervous and anxious driving up to the hospital to see her for the first time.

"The worst moment was when Julie [Sophie's mum] introduced me to Sophie saying I was her boyfriend.

"That's when realisation really started to hit home that she had completely lost her memory.

"This has been a challenging time for us both.

"We've shared some amazing memories together and Sophie losing her memory means she has completely forgotten everything we've done, so it has been lovely reminiscing on our relationship and all the great times we've shared together.

"I am just grateful to have Sophie, and grateful that she still has her personality and smile!"

If that's not true love, we don't know what is.

Featured Image Credit: SWNS

Topics: Life News, Sex and Relationships, Real