Prince William and Kate Middleton have now been married for more than 13 years, but getting there wasn't easy. Between the prying eyes of the paparazzi and meeting at such a young age, the couple definitely had plenty of obstacles in front of them — and they may have been closer than we thought to never getting married at all. According to one royal expert, Will and Kate had a particularly rough breakup before they were engaged, and it was said to be a "devastating blow" to her.
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Will and Kate dated for nearly a decade before they got engaged.
(After all, there is a reason the tabloids gave the future Princess of Wales the unkind nickname "Waity Katie" back then.)
During that time, they had a lot of ups and downs — understandably so, especially when they were both young university students figuring out adulthood for the first time. But according to what author Robert Jobson wrote in his new book, Catherine: The Princess of Wales (via People), one of those downs was a particularly rough one.
In 2007, William canceled his New Year's plans with Kate.
Jobson wrote that later, William called her to say that he couldn't promise her a proposal and thought they both needed to take some space to "find our own way."
"In an emotionally charged 30-minute conversation, they both acknowledged they were on 'different pages,'" Jobson wrote. "It was a devastating blow to Catherine, who felt doubly let down at being dumped over the phone."
At that point, they'd have been together for five years already, so it makes sense that this would have been a big deal — and maybe something he should have done in person.
Kate was 'distraught' by the phone call.
To distract herself, she joined her mom, Carole Middleton, on a trip to Dublin, and then jetted to Ibiza with a friend. William, who was serving in the military at the time, would soon see paparazzi photos of Kate and her sister, Pippa, out and about — so even if she was actually heartbroken, it looked like she was having a blast without him.
Will was playing checkers, but Kate was playing chess!
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It was then that Will started having second thoughts.
They'd both been invited to the same costume party and reunited.
"She'd arrived dressed as a nurse, and William had made a beeline for her," Jobson wrote. "They then spent the first part of the evening deep in conversation before hitting the dance floor, where they ended up kissing."
Awww!
The rest is history.
Literally — British history (and the monarchy for generations to come) would look totally different with someone else in the role of the future Queen of England.
It must have been so hard for Kate at the time, but maybe that break is what helped William realize he needed to lock it down with her – even if he wouldn't propose for a few more years. Everything happens for a reason!
