It was 3am in the morning on 27th May - it's funny how some dates stick in your mind.
I was fast asleep in bed and storing "like a pig" (apparently).
"I can't go on like this" Kaite said - and she meant it - because next minute she'd leapt out of bed and was packing her bags.
I went from a deep and restful sleep to wide awake in about three seconds flat.
It turned out that Kaite - my fiancée at the time - had not been happy for weeks and had been waiting for me to notice and say something.
But I must have missed all the signs because I thought we were happy as Larry and until that moment had assumed that she was too (first mistake).
As Kaite went through my list of failings as a partner, I decided that my best course of action was to make light of the situation - even jokingly blaming her PMS at one point (second mistake).
It was only as she walked through the door with tears streaming down her face that it dawned on me she might be serious.
I decided to give her a few days to calm down (third mistake).
As time went by, I added mistake after mistake to my list of shortcomings and although I was desperate to reunite with Kaite and put right all my numerous failings, I made the situation worse with each clumsy attempt.
It I'd carried on the way I was, I'm pretty certain that we would never had got back together - as it was I had help, but more about that later.
It you're in the same situation that I was in, look at my first three mistakes and you have to admit, they're easy mistakes to make! I mean, come on, when you've been together for a while (five years in my case) you automatically know that everything's fine.
At one time in the relationship, you may have been more involved in what the other person was doing and more in tune with how they were feeling, but as time goes on you just know that they're happy and fulfilled, don't you? Now replace 'know' with 'assume' and you can probably see the first mistake I made.
Being with somebody is not the same is being in tune with them.
It's not the same as taking time out to watch them and listen to what they're saying and it's certainly not the same as picking up on those moments of despair that they try to hide.
When your partner is feeling bad and doing their best to hide it, you really have to be sympathetic to their moods and emotions, otherwise the signs are really easy to miss.
Looking back, Kaite had been sending me subtle messages for months, both verbally and in her body language, but I'd been too absorbed in other things to notice.
If I'd only spent the time being more aware of her, I could so easily have avoided the heartache that I went through.
My second (huge) error, was treating her feelings as a joke and dismissing them with my crass attempt at humor.
This confirmed my status as a total prat in Kaite's eyes and even I have to admit it was a well deserved title.
My third gaffe was leaving her to cool down.
In my mind, I was respectfully giving her a little space to think things through.
But to Kaite, it was proof that I didn't care, I had probably never cared and I certainly wasn't bothered whether the relationship succeeded or failed.
A better course of action would have been for me to have contacted her and let her know how much I loved her.
I should have gone on to say that I fully respect her decision to take time out and due to my love for her I would give her that time without hassling her.
Then I would have suggested a date when we could perhaps meet up - at a place of her choosing - to discuss what options we had and to talk about whatever was bothering Kaite.
So, how did I get my fiancee back? Well, I admit that I sought help.
I then took the advice on board and called her to arrange a meeting.
She - reluctantly - agreed and after keeping me waiting for half an hour, she eventually turned up.
Right from the start I allowed Kaite to lead the conversation and I listened.
Yes there were tears, but two hours later, when she had poured out her heart and I had expressed my sorrow that she been so unhappy, she smiled.
I could have jumped on the chair and assumed all was forgiven - but I remembered what I had learned - and respectfully held her hand and suggested we take things slowly.
I could tell that she was surprised, but also relieved that I wasn't pushing for an immediate reconciliation.
There were a lot of things that needed to be put rights and jumping straight back into the relationship would have been a mistake.
I took her out for meals to her favorite restaurants and surprised her by arranging boat trips on the lake and spa breaks for her and her friends.
Each of these things may not be much, but they all showed Kaite that I had spent time thinking about what would make her happy and planning to make it happen.
Anyhow, by taking the slow approach, talking and most importantly listening, Kaite and I were reunited six weeks later.
I have made many mistakes in my relationships and most I wasn't even aware of.
But I can honestly say that since Kaite and I got back together, our relationship has been better than ever.
We're married now and I come out in a cold sweat when I think about how close I came to losing her.