They both got married, John in 1979 (to Carolyn), Ailsa in 1981 (to Kevin), but both marriages broke up in 1984/5.  They got in touch again and visited and kept in touch for a while.  There was an attempt at romantic involvement by John at that time, resisted by Ailsa.  However, John was in the Midlands and Ailsa was still in Liverpool and they drifted apart again.

Then in 1992, John came back to Liverpool and looked up his old friend Ailsa again.  For the next 15 months or so, they were "just good friends", but despite themselves, a romance started to blossom at the start of 1994.  One thing led to another and towards the end of that year, they got engaged and the following May they married. They have two cats and a small house with a long garden.