Lonely single mother who was fed up of being ‘Billy no-mates’ is stunned after her Facebook appeal for friends goes viral – and now she has over 300 pals
- Single mother Deborah Hawkins, 51, felt lonely after her two daughters grew up
- She posted a message about her wish for more friends on local Facebook page
- Deborah was astonished when she was inundated with messages from others
- So many people got in touch she started a group chat which has 300 members
A single mother-of-two who dubbed herself ‘Billy no mates’ now has a massive group of friends after posting an emotional appeal on Facebook.
Deborah Hawkins, 51, from Swadlincote in Derbyshire, says she was ‘fed up’ of feeling lonely and decided to take matters into her own hands.
In the heartfelt post on her local Facebook group, the businesswoman wrote that she ‘wears her heart of her sleeve’ and ‘wishes she had some friends to socialise with’ and admitted to being a ‘Billy no mates.’
Deborah Hawkins, 51, (pictured left and right with her two daughters) says she was ‘fed up’ of feeling lonely and decided to take matters into her own hands – so she took to Facebook
Online sales businesswoman Deborah says she had learnt to enjoy her own company but with her daughters both grown up that she was left feeling lonely as she had no one to enjoy the cinema or restaurants with.
After posting the message on Facebook last August, Deborah received an influx of messages from people in her local area.
She was then prompted to create a new group on social media called ‘Swadlincote making friends social’ to deal with the high demand of requests.
Deborah now has dozens of friends and is never short of plans whenever she fancies a night out.
After posting the message on Facebook last August, Deborah received an influx of messages
She added: ‘Last summer was one of the hottest ever, I was fed up of spending it on my own. I wanted to go to beer gardens, restaurants and enjoy the sun with some company.
‘When the girls were younger, I was always busy, and I would socialise with school mums, so loneliness was never a problem.
‘Before I knew it, they were teenagers and were out doing their own thing, so I quickly became miserable of being alone.
Deborah now has dozens of friends and is never short of plans when she fancies a night out
Deborah and some of her new friends at the local pub – they now have an online group
‘I was fed up of seeing nice restaurants that had just opened, or even coffee shops as I felt too embarrassed to go in on my own.
‘One day I had enough of being on my own and I had nothing to lose so I poured my heart out on a Swadlincote Facebook group in a bid to make some new friends.
‘I was anxious and I thought everyone was going to laugh at me, but within minutes, it was clear there were loads of people in the same boat.’
The post was a massive hit and one woman even suggested Deborah creates a group of her own for everyone to get acquainted – and now, eight months on, there are now over 300 members.
Christmas dinner with Deborah and her new friends after the Facebook post went viral
Deborah now has dozens of friends and is never short of plans whenever she fancies a night out
Deborah added: ‘I was over the moon with the replies, everyone was so nice and thankful that I plucked up the courage to write the post.
‘The first event was a huge success, around 20 of us met in a café and it wasn’t awkward at all.
‘We are always doing something like coffee mornings on Thursday and Fridays, bingo, pub quizzes and live music on Saturdays.
‘I now go out more than my daughters, my calendar is always full and I am happier than ever.’
The post was a massive hit and one woman even suggested Deborah creates a group of her own for everyone to get acquainted – and now, eight months on, there are now over 300 members