First Dates: Couple who met on TV show get married

Mike Sumner and Zoe Sumner Welch got married at a ceremony near Bradford

A couple who met on TV show First Dates have got married after one of them developed motor neurone disease (MND).

Mike Sumner and Zoe Sumner Welch appeared together on the Channel 4 programme, which sees single men and women go on blind dates, in 2020.

Mr Sumner was diagnosed with MND and the couple brought their wedding date forward, tying the knot in September.

Ms Sumner Welch said it was so they both "could celebrate as much as possible".

"It was originally planned for early next year, but we brought it forwards so Mike was able to do as much as he can to participate in it," she said.

"It can always get worse and there is no set timeframe with when it can get worse, or what might change."

Mr Sumner arrived at the wedding in a DeLorean car, as featured in the film series Back to the Future

In their TV encounter, Ms Sumner Welch said it was "not love at first sight" but the couple's relationship developed over the following months.

"At the end of meeting each other, we knew we had a connection and we knew we wanted to stay in touch," she said.

"But we weren't ready to say 'yeah that's my forever person' at that stage."

Mr Sumner, 38, from Grimsby, proposed during a Florida holiday in March 2022, two years to the day since they first met.

He arrived at the ceremony near Bradford in a DeLorean car, as featured in his favourite film Back to the Future.

The couple had a mini-honeymoon in York and are planning a longer one in Italy next year.

The couple celebrated their wedding with a small group of family and friends

They live in Sheffield and say they are being given "brilliant support" by the MND Association.

According to the NHS, MND is a condition that affects the brain and nerves. It causes weaknesses that gets worse over time but there are treatments to help reduce the impact it has on a person's daily life. Some people live with the condition for many years.

MND can significantly shorten life expectancy and eventually leads to death.

Mr Sumner said the couple aimed to "live life as much as possible".

"You've got to laugh, although it will get you down," he said.

"Zoe looks after me really well. I think I face it so well because of her."