'Lonely' 42-year-old care worker shared a post asking for friendship — by the end of the day, her life changed

A woman, who moved to a new town, was feeling alone. Then, a social media post changed her life.

PUBLISHED 5 HOURS AGO

Three middle-aged women standing in the woods hugging each other. (Representative Cover Image Source: Pexels | Kindel Media)

Some people do not enjoy solitude. Having some quality companionship around makes a huge difference for these people. That was the case of 42-year-old Laura Cooper who had moved from Waltham to Scunthorpe, an industrial town in Lincolnshire, England, per BBC. Cooper worked as an NHS care and teaching assistant and was recovering from an illness. After moving, Cooper felt lonely since she couldn't see her friends from Waltham frequently anymore. So, she took to her Facebook page in 2024 and decided to make some new friends.

A woman looking upset (Representative Image Source: Pexels | Kindel Media)

Little did Cooper know that her friendship plea on social media would end up transforming her life. After posting on her social handle, she got a response within an hour and then hundreds of people reached out to become her friends. By the end of October 2024, Cooper was in contact with almost 100 ladies who got in touch with her online and that was the beginning of a Facebook group called Scunthorpe Lovely Ladies Group. "The numbers kept going up and up and up," Cooper told the news outlet. "I was just like, 'Wow, this is real. I can't believe it.'"

Within the first few days, Cooper met her new friend circles at a local pub. The group had women and girls from various age groups, mostly between 16 to 75 years. Cooper and her girl group continued to meet over time and they even organized a get-together Christmas party that was attended by 70 people in the area. Cooper was delighted to find a loving community, despite battling a condition called functional neurological disorder (FND). The condition affected her nervous system and how her brain sent signals to her body. At times, Cooper had to visit hospitals when the stress-related condition overwhelmed her.

Two middle aged women taking a selfie (Representative Image Source: Pexels | RDNE Stock project)

"If anything happens with me and negativity in my life, then I don't feel well. My eyes flicker and I can't walk or talk for about three hours," she mentioned about her health condition. "I saw Laura's post and thought, this is what I've been looking for," Sandra Ferguson, the first woman who had contacted Cooper, told the outlet. "If it had only ever been Laura and me, we'd have been friends forever I think. But Laura kept messaging me, 'Another's joined, another's joined' and it went from there." A lady named Jan Gardner, a businesswoman who lived alone also joined the group in a short time.

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"I shut the door at five or six o'clock at night and don't see anyone until the next day. So, it encouraged me to do my hair, get my make-up on and enjoy life again," Gardner shared. "I live on my own and just needed to get out of the house more often. On weekends and during the week, I'd sit on the sofa and that would be it," another member of the group, Alison Law, said. Nowadays, the ladies' group has almost 600 members and they stage regular meetings on Wednesday evenings where they enjoy coffee and meals together. "It warms me, it just makes me feel like I'm doing something good," Cooper admitted. "I sometimes just step back and everyone's talking and it's lovely. It does make me a bit upset but in a nice way."