Their favourite 90s band brought the girls together (Picture: Supplied)
Before the Stylers, the BeyHive and the Swifties, there was the Thatters – the Take That fandom, born in the early 90s, that were as passionate as the cowboy hat-wearing gig goers of today.
Amy Rowland was one of those Take That devotees. At just eight-years-old in the mid-90s, there was no better man than Mark Owen (her allegiance later shifted to Gary Barlow), and Babe was a musical masterpiece.
Now 38 and living in London, Amy says: ‘My walls back at home in Derby were covered in posters of Take That, and when I finally went to my first concert in 1994 with my Dad, I knew I’d die happy. I loved everything about them.’
Amy didn’t think anyone could love the band as much as her – that is, until she began writing to her new pen pal.
The 38-year-old explains: ‘It sounds farfetched, but my mum’s boss’ granddaughter was also a big Take That fan, so they decided to put us in touch.
‘Rachael lived out in Libya with her family, because her dad worked there, so the only way we could contact each other was by sending letters.’
Amy was a die hard Gary fan at home in Derby
Whilst her penpal, Rachael was a Robbie fan living in Libya
It was Amy that first put pen to paper, detailing her love,/a> of Take That to her potential new pal.
Amy recalls: ‘We couldn’t use the post, as Libya was a turbulent place back then too, so we relied on people visiting to hand deliver the letters – colleagues of Rachael’s dad or family members. We managed to get a letter to each other about every other month.
‘We’d send each other pages and pages, all about our love of Take That – looking back, I have no idea how we had so much to say about them. And we’d send pictures of all our memorabilia: from the posters to the duvet covers and the dolls.’
And, as the pair got older, they continued to share more of their lives with each other – despite being 2,000 miles apart.
Amy says: ‘We talked about boys that we fancied at schools, and Rachael got expelled from her boarding school a few times, so I heard all about her antics.
‘I was in awe of her. I was just this girl living in Derby, but she seemed to have this amazing, exotic life. She reminded me of the twins from Sweet Valley High because she was so blonde and tanned – and naughty!’
They’d spend school holidays together
Then, that same year, Rachael visited the UK during a school holiday, but bored of staying with her grandparents, she stayed with Amy.
‘That soon became a bit of a tradition,’ says Amy. ‘She’d come and stay with us and we just had the best time.
‘We’d go shopping or on trips to Alton Towers. And we’d spend hours watching Friends with our favourite snacks, Galaxy chocolate bars and Dr Pepper.
‘I was an only child, and Rachael went to a different school to her sister, so we became like the sisters we never had. My mum became a bit of a surrogate mum to her too.’
But the girls’ love for Take That began to wain on that fateful day in 1995, when the five-piece became a four.
Amy says: ‘Rachael was a big Robbie fan, so as soon as he left, she started to lose interest.
They soon realised they had more in common than Take That
‘I was still a diehard fan, but they split up six months later. Obviously, I was devastated and had to have a day off school – and immediately wrote a letter to Rachael. It was our first taste of heartbreak.
‘Thankfully by then, Rachael and I didn’t need Take That to keep us together – our friendship was already a big part of our lives.’
Then, aged 14, the girls found a new obsession: football.
Amy explains: ‘We needed a new passion. I loved Liverpool and Rachael was a Bradford fan because she loved Lee Sharpe. We’d go to matches together.’
But, in 2001, when the girls were 16, they drifted apart.
After losing touch for a few years, they ended up living together in London
‘It became a bit uncool to have pen pals,’ says Amy. ‘We were also both quite busy – we had boyfriends and I was heading off to college, and we still lived on separate continents.
‘There was no social media, so it’s not as though we could keep in touch online. The friendship just faded away, but if I ever heard Take That on the radio, I’d wonder what my childhood pal was up to.’
It was almost 10 years later, when Amy was working in Australia, that she spotted a friend request on Facebook from a familiar face.
‘I clicked accept and immediately read her status that explained she was looking for someone to live with in East London,’ says Amy. ‘As fate would have it, I’d just been let down be a friend and needed a housemate.
‘I sent her a message, and it was like no time had passed. We got so excited, and the next thing I knew, Rachael had found us a flat. We moved in together in March 2010.
‘It was exactly how you’d image living with your best mate to be. Lots of wine and gossip!
‘There’s a stability and safety in knowing that someone will always be there’
‘We only lived together for four years, but it felt like such a huge, important time of our lives.
‘When we finally parted ways and moved into our own places, it was bittersweet. I hated the idea of not seeing her every day.’
Then, a year later in 2015, Amy got married in Las Vegas. She explains: ‘I knew my wedding would be small, as it was a lot to ask people to fly to the other side of the world. I didn’t think Rachael would be able to make it as the flights were so expensive.
‘But a few months before, her boyfriend surprised her with tickets. It was the best present – for both of us. I didn’t have bridesmaids but Rachael was one of my witnesses.’
Rachael then got married in 2021 and Amy was front and centre when it came to making it special for her. She adds: ‘I organised the hen do and was mistress of ceremonies on the day.’
Now, Rachael lives in Portugal, but the pair are closer than ever.
They played a part in each others’ weddings (Picture: Supplied)
‘We’ve swapped writing letters for sending voice notes. We have very different lives, but every time we see each other, nothing has changed.
‘I love how easy and comfortable our relationship is. We don’t have big expectations of each other, we’re just easy going.
‘It’s lovely having a friend that’s known you since childhood. There’s a stability and safety in knowing that someone will always be there.’
And of course, the pair both still love Take That.
Amy laughs: ‘While there’s now more than Take That that binds us, we love that they’re the reason we met!’
‘We love that the band is the reason we met.’