When Chris Hughes bought his eight-year-old daughter Lily a pet hamster, he never anticipated the rodent would help his mental health and set him up with his future wife.
But for the NHS nurse, who struggles with anxiety and was grappling with a break-up, Popcorn the hamster became a source of calm and connection as he followed him around the room.
Eventually Chris decided to share the hamster’s behaviour online, quickly racking up more than 140,000 TikTok fans.
Out of those followers was his now-fiancée, and he now thanks Popcorn for landing him both a published book and his happily ever after.
“It’s just like a fairytale ending. Without sounding too cheesy, through Popcorn, without him it wouldn’t have happened, he was cupid in a way,” he said.
Video edited by Erin Lister
BBC News
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