She was born Jacqueline Sonia Wolfenden. Jacquie was 19 when she met Gerald Durrell, during his first stay in her father's hotel in Manchester after an animal-collecting expedition. The two began dating, although initially Jacquie claimed that she was very reluctant to become Durrell's girlfriend. Jacquie's father did not approve of her relationship with Durrell, and was completely antipathetic towards the idea of the couple's marriage, chiefly because he considered that Durrell had no money and apparently no career prospects. Jacquie could not marry without her parents' permission until she was 21, so after her 21st birthday, she and Durrell eloped and married in Bournemouth on 26 February 1951. Gerald Durrell's mother, sister Margaret Durrell and brother Leslie Durrell helped to organise and attended the wedding and subsequent party. In marrying Durrell, Jacquie gave up her potential career as an opera singer for which she had been in training since the age of 17. She also gave up her relationship with her father – after her elopement, she never spoke to any of her relatives again.
