AN Irish blues singer whose marriage fell apart reunites with a son he hasn’t seen in 10 years after beating his addiction to alcohol in tonight’s edition of First Love on Virgin Media.
he series follows a group of singletons pining for old flames and attempting to win them back many years later.
Meath man Paddy Smith (49) was playing at one of his gigs in the Celt Bar in Dublin in 2002 when he first met American tourist Mary Ann Colby.
"I would drink a lot and it progressed to the stage where I needed to drink in the morning and go to early houses just to get into work.
"When I met Mary Ann there was an instant connection. I was in love, no doubt about it. I thought I was after finding the answer to all my dreams."
They got on so well, Mary Ann had a proposal for him.
"She asked me 'would you like to come back to California with me?'" He did and Paddy and Mary Ann eventually got married in her hometown of Sacramento.
"We were married for three years and then Liam came along. I was so proud, but alcohol unfortunately came first."
Mary Ann has fond memories, but also bad ones.
"One day I said to him: 'Are you ever going to stop drinking?'. He said: 'I don't think so'. I said: 'I appreciate your honesty', and that was the end of that."
Paddy drifted to Chicago. But one night he got into a bar fight and ended up in jail for a few weeks. He returned to Ireland, where his drinking continued to spiral out of control.
"I had heart trouble and everything. The surgeon said 'you're heading for a big stroke'."
So he got a taxi to Slane for an alcohol awareness meeting and was given a book called Living Sober. After that "my mother and father had their son back, the one that they knew."
He finally reached out to Mary Ann on social media about six years ago and got in touch with the First Love producers.
"I was afraid to go back to California, it was fear of rejection. When we met she was the same person. I couldn't get over the level of forgiveness. It was great. I didn't know what to expect. Even from Liam. He is a gentleman."
Mary Ann now has a partner and a three year old son, and Paddy hopes they can all have a big get-together in Ireland "when things are better".
The show also follows the fortunes of Teresa and Beat who first met in their late teens in the French town of Saint Malo.
Teresa travels back to France and, while she is happily married, she was delighted to meet Beat again, revisiting their old haunts and reminiscing.
- First Love is on Virgin Media One tonight at 10pm
Herald
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'It got to the stage where I needed drink in the morning to get to work... I can't believe the forgiveness she gave me' - Independent.ie
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