I rushed to help when he got run over — then I noticed he wasn’t wearing a ring

‘It’s insane to think about really, it’s crazy,’ says Kirsty Southern, 43, of the moment she met her soulmate.

While many couples met on dating apps or dimly lit bars, some meet cutes are a little more out of the ordinary.

And that’s certainly the case for Kirsty and her husband, Ryan McLeod, 46, who met after he got run over.

To remember their unusual meeting, they even took photos at the crash scene on their wedding day.

‘We’re twin flames,’ adds Kirsty. ‘The universe looked at us and said: “Yep, they belong together”‘.

On the day of the accident in October 2020, Ryan had just finished a workout at the leisure centre where Kirsty had also been for a swim.

As he was trying to navigate a zebra crossing, he was hit by a car.

Ryan explains: ‘I left the gym and I was just walking into town, it seemed quite busy and the traffic was all backed up.

‘I was a little bit hesitant [to cross] but the cars had stopped, until I got half way across the road and one started moving and I went under his wheel.

‘I was under the driver’s side and I was just banging on this car to get off me.

‘I was run over twice, but I only remember being pinned down and banging.’

Meanwhile, Kirsty saw the accident unfold.

‘I left the swim early with a cramp in my leg, and from where I was I glanced up and saw this man go under a car,’ she explains.

‘He was banging on the side of the car. Some lady was screaming she was a first aider and I went behind him to tell him to lean on me to make him comfortable.’

While Ryan says he couldn’t see his now wife’s face at the time because she was sat propping him up, it was a different story for Kirsty.

‘I was chatting rubbish, but I did have a sneaky look at his ring finger and saw it was empty, as I thought he was good looking.

‘I stayed with him for 45 minutes until the ambulance came.’

Ryan was taken off to hospital, where the skin and ligaments on his lower leg required extensive reconstruction.

Meanwhile, Kirsty admits to looking up Ryan on social media.

‘I had a little Facebook look as I knew his name afterwards. I didn’t message him, just a look. I had a bit of a “stalk” and we had a friend in common,’ she says.

But then, during his hospital stay, Ryan appealed via Facebook for witnesses to get in contact with him, so Kirsty got in touch.

‘It wasn’t until she responded to my request that I actually looked at her profile and thought she was pretty,’ says Ryan.

The couple exchanged numbers, and finally met four months later in January 2021, for a socially-distanced walk around a picturesque lake and park in Corby, Northamptonshire, where they live.

They soon moved in together and over the next four years, Ryan concentrated on recovering from his injuries.

He was forced to undergo surgery and says he needs physiotherapy to lead a normal life. Since the accident, movement in his ankle has been reduced by about 5%.

‘I’m very lucky I didn’t break anything, but the ligaments are the longest to heal,’ says Ryan. ‘I still struggle, wear an ankle support and have regular physio.’

The pair got engaged during a weekend away in Shropshire, although when Ryan got down on bended knee, Kirsty briefly worried if he’d hurt himself again.

Kirsty said: ‘He was on the ground and I said “are you ok?” and then I realised. It was lovely.’

Now, the pair are enjoying life as newlyweds.

‘Married life is like living in a cosy love story. We’re in a beautiful bubble together, and it’s absolute bliss,’ says Kirsty.

And despite the accident, Ryan wouldn’t change a thing. ‘It’s how I met my wife, so I’d say it was worth it,’ he says.

Do you have a story to share?

Get in touch by emailing MetroLifestyleTeam@Metro.co.uk.