In Love at First Site I wanted to explore the idea of putting a woman into a very male dominated working environment. My first thought was to look into trucking, but it’s a pretty lonely occupation on the whole, so the romance might have been difficult to find. I’m also delighted to report that more and more women are taking up roles in haulage, as a brief scan of TikTok shows. I’m a particular fan of Ellie the trucker, who gives regular updates on the sexism she encounters through her work, but there are plenty of others.
Inspiration finally came, as it seems to surprisingly often, from Married at First Sight. The UK version of the show has started to include same sex couples and, in 2022, we were introduced to Zoe Clifton, who works as a quantity surveyor. She was shown on several building sites, with her hard hat, hi-vis vest and protective boots and that sowed the seeds for me. Later on, when I was trying to find out whether there were any brickmaking factories still operating in the UK (Wikipedia proving surprisingly vague on the subject), I knew exactly who to contact. One of the women from my (ultimately unsuccessful) time attending a dieting group was also involved in the construction industry as a salesperson for a brick company. What I didn’t know at the time was that one of my long-term friends had also shifted jobs into construction as a health and safety expert, so it would seem there are more women in the construction industry than I’d first imagined.
However, the fact remains that it is still intensely male dominated, and this gave me the opportunity to pit Ella against some classic sexist attitudes. John, a total dinosaur who is firmly against ‘the birdification of the building industry’ was a surprising joy to write. His relationship advice, based purely around his love of Vindaloo, is one of my favourite chapters in the book. Others, such as the man from the builders’ merchant and the delivery driver, were less fun, but sadly all too common.
Does Ella make it, or does she ultimately decide construction is not for her? You’ll have to read the book to find out, but what I can tell you is that Zoe and Jenna, who she was partnered with in the show, are still together.
Make sure to pick up your copy of Phoebe’s brand new rom-com today: https://mybook.to/lovefirstsitesocial