Online bingo chatroom helps to reunite long-lost sisters

A chance encounter between two anonymous users in an online bingo chatroom ended up leading to an emotional family reunion after it transpired that they were in fact a pair of long-lost sisters.

Amanda, 44, and Melissa Paterson, 43, had not spoken to or seen each other in 15 years before starting a conversation in an online bingo chatroom in February last year.

“Our mum loved bingo and used to take us with her,” said Amanda.

“But our parents got divorced and I think we both took it very hard. I left home quite early on and I just took my own path. Melissa took her own path too.”

The sisters reconnected on the bingo site when Amanda noticed that Melissa, like her, came from Colchester. After Melissa mentioned the name of her old school, her age, and the ages of her children, Amanda started to suspect that there were too many coincidences.

After being put in touch by the bingo website, the sisters spent hours talking on the phone and have now met in person. With the easing of COVID restrictions, they are now enjoying being able to attend bingo nights together.

“We both remember going when we were younger and it’s what brought us back together again now,” says Melissa.

It’s a lovely example of how bingo can offer a shared social experience to bring people together.