You are about to listen to a BBC podcast and I'd like to tell you a bit about what goes into making one.

I'm Sadata Sese, an assistant commissioner of podcasts for BBC Sounds.

I pull a lot of levers to support a diverse range of podcasts on all sorts of subjects,

relationships, identity, comedy, even one that mixes poetry, music and inner city life.

So one day I'll be helping host develop their ideas, the next fact-checking, a feature,

and the next looking at how a podcast connects with its audience.

And maybe that's you.

So if you like this podcast, check out some others on BBC Sounds.

I remember when I read it, this very odd physical reaction happened.

And I just felt the hair is on the back of my next stand-up because I hadn't felt that I had any connection to this story or these women,

but the way in which the relationships progressed

and the way in which the men left the relationships felt so familiar.

And I just thought, oh my God, you know, that sounds like what happened with Carlo.

This is Lives Less Ordinary, an original podcast from the BBC World Service.

Every episode, we bring you an extraordinary personal story from someone who's willing to share the most intimate and defining moments of their life with you.

I'm Emily Webb.

Thank you. With you, I'm Emily Webb. What we're about to talk about, the way it all started, was actually just down the road, down by High Park Corner.

Yeah, that's where it all began.

This is Donna McLean. She lives by the seaside, but she called a train to come and meet me at

our studio in central London. The story you're about to hear starts before Donna quit city life back

in 2002. She'd moved down to London from Scotland with her childhood sweetheart. They'd

broken up and it was quite an overwhelming period. She was far away from her family. She was in her

...