Once her rabbits had moved in with Richard, it was only a matter of weeks before Keely followed. “There was no reason to go home,” she says. Keely lived 40 miles away, but she was spending most of her time at Richard’s house.
They met in June 2017 through a dating app; Keely had posted “climbing buddy wanted”. “I just jumped at it and sent her a résumé of all my climbing achievements,” says Richard. “There were a lot of videos of Rich climbing things,” says Keely. “Yeah,” says Richard with a laugh. “Topless.” They are one of those gloriously good-looking and athletic couples, constantly laughing and teasing each other.
They arranged to go out on Friday night. “You know when you’re like ‘Ugh, I’m not sure I should bother’?” says Keely. But she didn’t want to let him down. “Oh my God,” he says. “The truth is coming out now.”
“I’m glad that I did go,” she says, although she adds it wasn’t a very successful first date. “It was a funny one,” he agrees. “She was very ‘jazz hands’. And she said her rabbits were married and I thought that was just the most ridiculous thing I’d ever heard.” Keely laughs. “I didn’t perform a ceremony; it’s just a figure of speech, isn’t it?” Is it? Richard smiles. “I thought that was a bit weird.”
She thought he was “a bit annoying”. But there was chemistry – “A bit of a grope,” says Keely – and they met up for a walk that Sunday. A month later, she went on holiday with Richard and his family, then the rabbits moved in, then she did. They are getting married next year.
Richard has macular dystrophy and is registered blind. He told Keely this in one of their first messages. “I’d get chatting to someone online and see if I got on with them, and then drop the bombshell,” he says. “But it didn’t seem to bother her. A lot of women, it did. That would be the last I’d hear from them.”
Was she fazed? “Not really. I’d learned more about myself and what was important. People have this big list of what they want in a partner: ‘They must be this, they must be that.’ But you just don’t know until you meet somebody if you’re going to click or not.”
Richard started losing his sight in 2013; he has lost his central vision, but still has some peripheral vision. “I still probably don’t understand fully. I forget, don’t I?” says Keely. “Yes, you’re really good at going, ‘Oh, look at that.’ Brilliant,” he deadpans.
“The best was when we were on holiday and you thought a mannequin was me,” she says. “She was wearing an awful outfit. I was not impressed.”
What sort of impact does it have on their relationship? Are there things Richard can’t do? “Yeah, the washing up, the cleaning,” he says, and laughs. “Driving is the main thing, and she reads all the letters as well.” It’s hard when Richard was so used to being independent, says Keely. “I realised how small your life can become. I can pop in the car and off I go, but you don’t have that ease. When I met you, I wanted to make life as easy as possible for you. But it’s about trying to keep your independence as well.”
She encouraged Richard to try out for Team GB’s paraclimbing squad; he is now ranked No 1 in his category in the UK, and seventh in the world. They are still climbing buddies. “That’s one of the lovely things,” says Keely. “Pretty much, we do everything together.” Richard says: “We live in each other’s pockets and we don’t get fed up with it.”
The main question is: are the rabbits still there? Keely grimaces. “It’s a bit like the Sugababes,” she says, referring to the pop group’s revolving members. “We’ve been very unlucky.” Richard smiles. “But the two we’ve got now are happily married.”
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