As Metro turns 24, we find out what happened to our secret Rush-Hour Crushes

No matter how bad the weather, or how delayed your morning train, one constant reminder that love is all around us has cheered the nation for years.

Metro’s iconic Rush-Hour Crush has helped turned those secret yearnings into endless possibilities, even hooking up readers with their commuting cutie IRL along the way. In fact, in our many years of crushes, we’ve had three weddings and one baby – with another due to arrive next month.

After meeting through the column in November 2012, IT manager Gavin Smith used Rush-Hour Crush to publish a proposal to girlfriend Rebecca Church, saying, ‘I’m the Tall Rugby Player who contacted you through Rush-Hour Crush. I can’t imagine my life without you.’

Gavin handed her a copy of Metro at Shepherd’s Bush station in London, and presented Rebecca with an engagement ring as she tearfully said yes.

When Michael Nobbs spotted someone on his train in August 2008, he felt sure she was the woman of his dreams, but because of a stutter, he didn’t have the confidence to say hello. Instead, he put a message in Rush-Hour Crush.

The pair met and fell in love, and romantic Michael proposed with a copy of Metro. They married in 2011, and financial planner Michael, 43, and Sarah, 37, now have a daughter, Rita, eight. ‘We’re as much in love with each other now as we were at the start,’ says Michael.

Adam Lyons saw the girl of his dreams reading Rush-Hour Crush on his daily commute from Hoxton in January 2016, and started to chat to her. Ashleigh Porteous told him it was her dream to be in the column.

The two began dating and moved to Melbourne. Metro printed Adam’s proposal in Rush-Hour Crush, posted copies of the paper out to Australia, and Adam handed one to her during a romantic mountainside picnic. A delighted Ashleigh said yes.

Now, the couple have bought their first home and are expecting their own Metro baby next month.

Here, our latest could-be couple, who fell for each other on the Guildford-to-London railway line, share how Rush-Hour Crush brought them together.

‘She didn’t say much, just told me to check page 11…’

• Dragos Valentin, 39, lives in Blackwater and works in construction

‘One evening on my way home, the train was pulling up to my stop, when a woman handed me a copy of Metro and told me to check page 11. When I got home, I saw the Rush-Hour Crush section. Brunette With Headphones said she was interested in a man with a green jacket, beanie and headphones – which is what I was wearing.

‘I emailed Metro explaining that I was the ‘man with beanie’ described in the paper and that I was keen to go on a date. I checked the paper every day to see if I had a response. Days later, I did, and we arranged to meet on the platform at Guildford station. There was an instant spark.

‘Like me, Monica is Romanian, and we have so much in common. She said she wants a family, the same as me. I bought her a bouquet of tulips. I also gave her a bracelet, as it was a Romanian holiday and that’s a custom back home. We’ve laughed every time we’ve met up. She makes me feel happy. Who knows? Maybe we’ll invite Metro to the wedding.’

‘This experience has changed my mind on love’

• Monica Popa, 38, is a fundraiser from Oxford

‘I was getting the train home from work one evening and spotted Dragos on the other side of the platform. I thought we’d exchanged a knowing glance before we got on the train but it turns out he didn’t even see me. I couldn’t stop staring – I had to get my book out and pretend to read.

‘Over the next few days, I couldn’t get him out of my head, so I decided to send a message to Rush-Hour Crush. I was stunned when I opened the paper and saw it in print.

‘He was actually on the station the same day my message was published.

‘I ran up to him with the copy of Metro. He looked confused, and when I didn’t hear anything for a few days, I wrote it off.

‘But I then got an email from Metro, who told me to check the paper the next day – and I had a reply from Dragos! So I sent my response through Rush-Hour Crush and we agreed to meet. It felt very romantic to have to keep checking the paper every day to see whether he had messaged. I’d been single for two years and had only had boring Tinder dates.

‘I couldn’t believe my luck when I saw Dragos on the platform – he was so good-looking.

‘We went to a pub and chatted for hours. It was a good date that ended in a hug. He really spoiled me when we went on our next date, buying me a beautiful bouquet and a bracelet.

‘My new year’s resolution was to be at peace with not having a relationship – I’d given up on romance. But I can see things with Dragos becoming more serious. We’re the same age and we want similar things.

‘This chance encounter has really changed my ideas on love. I’m excited to see what will happen next.’

Metro’s very own cupid – MetroTalk editor Paul Dietrich, who compiles Rush-Hour Crush – says: ‘We love getting these little notes of love (or lust!) sent into the paper and it’s super-sweet when people do get together because of it.

‘They’re proof that happy endings do happen, even on the commute!’

MORE : I’ve fostered more than 50 kids – now I provide love and support to teenage refugees

MORE : Angela Bassett’s ‘sore loser’ reaction at Oscars was refreshingly human