Josh was single when an Instagram post changed his life. A year later, he’s expecting a baby.

One year ago, Josh Renshaw was a single man, having dinner with his friend, Mia Freedman.

It had been almost three years since his marriage had ended and Josh was feeling disillusioned with dating apps that resulted in only “ridiculous” short-lived flings.

So Mia took his picture and bashed out a few words about her friend on Instagram.

“Mia had seen how frustrating it had become for everyone to see me having these relationships,” says Josh. “She said ‘why don’t we do this? You never know what’s going to happen.’ And I said ‘yeah, sure why not?’.”

The post, the one you can see right here, completely changed Josh’s life in one short year.

This is my friend @joshua_renshaw . He is kind, smart, funny, handsome and currently single. One of the best guys I know. True story. Ladeez?

A post shared by Mia Freedman (@miafreedman) on Jan 5, 2017 at 12:19am PST

Advertisement

The Internet worked its magic and now Josh, 44, is in love and expecting a baby with his girlfriend Michele Bray, 39.

Michele and Josh, both based in Sydney, had dated for a while soon after Josh's split from his ex-wife, but the timing wasn't right. Seeing Mia's photo prompted Michelle to send Josh a text.

"That same day or maybe the day after... she said something like, 'Hey how are you? I'm single now. Maybe we should have a cup of tea'," Josh said.

The last time he'd reached out to her, Michelle had been dating. Now neither of them were. Picking up where they left off, things moved quickly. Now, their baby is due at the end of March next year.

So here’s a story about how you never know what your future holds. This time last year I posted the photo on the left of my beloved friend @joshua_renshaw who was looking for love but not really finding it on apps. “He’s single and one of the best men I know” I wrote, hoping to find someone fabulous for him. @missdandilion saw the photo, they’d been on a date the year before but it hadn’t worked out. But she also happened to be single again and when she saw the photo and saw Josh was single again too, she texted him. A year later.....Josh and Michelle are crazy in love and HAVING A BABY YOU GUYS. :heart::heart::heart::heart::heart::clap::skin-tone-2::clap::skin-tone-2::clap::skin-tone-2::clap::skin-tone-2::tada::tada::tada::tada::tada::tada::tada::tada::tada: This time of year can be rough if you’re not in the place you had hoped to be. But the thing is, a lot can change in a short space of time. So hang in there. This year is a blank page. And it’s yours to write on. :heart_eyes::heart_eyes::heart_eyes::heart_eyes::heart_eyes::heart_eyes::heart_eyes:

A post shared by Mia Freedman (@miafreedman) on Jan 1, 2018 at 1:27am PST

Both Michele and Josh agree that without the Instagram post they might never have reconnected. As far as Josh knew before her text in January 2017, Michele was in a relationship. As far as Michele knew, they'd missed their window.

"It would have taken something quite unique. I don't know what the chances are," Josh said.

Michele added that while lots of little moments brought them together, Mia's post was certainly "instrumental".

"If someone had have told me 12 months ago this was going to happen I probably would have laughed at them to be honest," Michele told Mamamia. "I never would have believed it."

Listen: Does your relationship pass the loaf of bread test? It involves crusts. (Post continues.)

"It was definitely one of those sliding doors or serendipitous moments, that's for sure."

A lot can change in a year, people. If you're somewhere you didn't expect to find yourself at the beginning of 2018, don't freak out. Next January could be a completely different story.

Have you had a period in your life where everything's changed dramatically in 12 months? We want to hear your story. Email a couple of paragraphs about your story to [email protected] and we'll be in touch.

Listen: Does your relationship pass the loaf of bread test? It involves crusts. (Post continues.)