I realise in splashing pictures of my house over the internet I have let you all in to my home ‘virtually’ and I frequently mention my husband in my posts, however I rarely get too personal. I have to admit I was wary about today’s feature but I think there are a fair few people who have been in my situation and who doesn’t like a good chat about relationships?!
I met my husband James when we were both penniless students studying at Nottingham Trent University. He was 21 and I was 19. He sold me tickets to a night at one of our favourite clubs and we found out we shared mutual friends.
James’ Parents had recently divorced and obviously this had an impact on him. I didn’t know how to deal with this fragile soul who was so confused about love and relationships. I had lived in a bubble with happily married parents and wasn’t mature enough to empathise with the situation. We parted after four months together and it’s fair to say we broke each other’s hearts.
Over a year later I was walking to the bar in a club and some bloke stuck his foot out slightly so I stumbled. I turned to apologise (not sure why as he had tripped me up, and I was hideously embarrassed) and realised it was James. Four months later we were back together but our situation was far from ideal. By this time I had graduated and was living back in Sheffield with my Parents while James was working in Nottingham. For several months we both made the short train ride back and forth, sometimes involving me getting up at 5.30am to make it back to Sheffield for an early start at my waitressing job.
For a while it was exciting; our fleeting meetings were romantic, our social life was jam-packed but we both had to accept that we needed to make a move with our own careers and this probably meant relocating. James got a ‘proper job’ back in Northamptonshire in the early December and over the next four months I shuttled back and forth to his Dad’s house, legging it through the streets of Sheffield after work every other Friday to catch the train. Quite frankly I was treating my Parents’ house like a hotel and they never once complained. My Ma and Pa were legends.
We both had a large circle of friends and I was torn between wanting to travel down to London to see my friends for the weekend but ultimately this meant two weeks without seeing the boy. Sometimes James would make the 100 mile trip to Sheffield after work so we could spend some time together midweek, leaving at some ungodly hour to make it to his desk by 9am.
Does anyone remember the first winter after Uni? It’s desperate. However keen I was to repeat the hedonistic week night outs, I was shattered from working two jobs to pay off my terrifyingly large overdraft. Two consecutive months in a row we ran up huge phone bills as we spoke three or four times a day. Quite frankly our conversations were tedious; discussing what we’d had for tea, what was on TV and what time the next train was. Living so far apart was frustrating, lonely and expensive.
The following February I went to visit my sister in Bristol for the weekend. I can still vividly remember sitting in a bar on Whiteladies, glass of Pinot in hand discussing the pain of a long-distance relationship. She gave me the best piece of advice I’ve ever received. “You should jack your job in and move to be with him. Give it a go”.
So I did. I handed my notice in on the Monday and started interviewing for jobs in Northamptonshire. I was offered a role as a Product Marketing Assistant on the condition I could start in the next ten days. We found a flat to rent in Kettering and in a whirlwind week I had set up home in a new county, swapped my apron for a business suit and had moved in with a boy.
We all know how this chapter ends; me in a white frock and James in a Hugo Boss suit saying ‘I do’ so it all worked out peachy in the end. What happened in-between is probably worthy of another post though so I’ll leave you here but I’d love to hear about your experiences of long-distance love. I don’t think I’m the only one who used to be able to recite the East Midlands train timetable…
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This was me too, albeit just before & after I got married. My other half & I met at uni (same course) and happily lived in the same city and later the same flat for final year and a few years of post-grad study. After uni though my husband found a job in Aberdeen while I was still finishing my PhD & working full time in Glasgow. Cue him moving 140ish miles away 2 weeks before our wedding…
10 months later, I’d had enough and decided I could finish uni work remotely so packed up our flat (cat included) and got a job up north. I’m still trying to settle into life up here – my job doesn’t have the same ready-made social circle my husband’s does, but not having repetitive conversations about oven chips or spending all my money on the MegaBus (ugh!) makes up for it. And seeing Callum too, obviously.
Oh Lynsey my lovely, I can’t believe you lived apart after you got married and for ten months too.
I promise you that you will eventually settle in, and like you say, being with the boy more than makes up for it.
It was a bit rubbish, but I kept telling myself we had it a whole lot better than folk in the forces! Those couples have my admiration.
I love hearing how people met, thanks for sharing Lauren. I also met my boyfriend at uni (19 and 21 too!) and had a great 2 years together. But then came the…what next? I love travel and had always wanted to take a year out, but he was doing a Masters. I knew I would regret it if I stayed behind and didn’t take the opportunity. We decided to break up for it – a heart wrenching decision but it all felt too much, too young. For a few months I decided I was fine etc etc, but one drunken night in New Zealand I decided to give him a call and tell him that it really wasn’t fine. 2am in New Zealand was 2pm in the library a few days before exams for him. Oops. We decided that I would be back soon, and we both knew what we wanted…we had jobs in London and would be in the same place. Except the recession then really started to hit and a few days later he got a call saying his job was postponed for a year…his time to travel for a year. When we were finally in the same city, we met up and the rest is history! 2 years on. 2 years off. 4 years back on. The break, and the distance did us the world of good. Sometimes you meet the right one too young. I’m so glad we had the time out, it was the best decision we have (subconsciously!) made. xx
Your story is a far better one to tell the Grandkids Sian! I’m a big fan of a love story that spans across the ocean. So pleased you finally made it back to each other 🙂 x
Not the East Midlands line, but the Great Northern for me – 2 years of relationship commuting between Durham and Cambridge. That’s what happens when a fresher falls for a 3rd year at uni! All turned out happily in the end, also with a white frock (but with a Reiss suit rather than Hugo Boss). In some ways it strengthened our relationship and taught us to really appreciate time together, as well as also making us both stubborn about staying together after all that effort (in a good way!) but in other ways it had a knock on effect – when we were eventually living together many years later, I remained quite clingy and hated saying goodbye when we had work trips etc. It has also left me with a strong dislike for Peterborough station aka the coldest place in England to spend lonely Friday nights!
I don’t think I’ve ever had the pleasure of visiting Peterborough station but I have the same dislike for Leicester train station. Why was the connecting train always delayed?!
And me too! When my hubby and I got together I was living in Cambridge and he was living in Bath. We did the long distance thing for a couple of years racking up hours of calls (thankfully we both had free minutes and were on the same mobile network), miles and miles of driving and hours sat on the train wishing that I didn’t have to go through London to get to and from Bath. Then the boy proposed so I negotiated with my boss that I could do my job remotely and moved to Bath. Thankfully I then managed to get a job in Bath making life a lot easier. The original plan was to get a job within commuting distance of Bath a lot sooner but it didn’t happen that way. We made it easier by trying to ensure that we took turns in doing the commuting and meeting halfway as much as possible either booking hotels, B&B’s or utilising family houses. I used to hate Sunday nights but in the end it was worth it.
You must have had some fabulous negotiation skills Sarah to be able to persuade your boss to work remotely. So pleased it all worked out in the end x
I basically told him that either he could let me work remotely or I was going to quit. Thankfully for my bank balance he decided that me working remotely was the better option.
Good work, I don’t this would work for waitresses 😉
That was Dave & I. We also met at Uni, but annoyingly when we met our home towns were only 30 mins apart (in the same county…it was fate!), but during uni my mum decided to move in with her partner…in Folkestone! I was devestated & may have acted a little like a spoilt brat (that bit in the inbetweeners when Simon has a massive strop at his parents for planning on moving – yeah that was totally me! Sorry mum!!)
Anyhoo, when I left uni I didn’t have much money & so moved in with my mum & partner. Every other Friday one of us would spend the afternoon/evening making the 2.5 drive (or longer train journey!) to see each other for a few days before Sunday came round and we were saying our goodbyes. Add to that the fact we weren’t allowed to stay in the same room at his parents house! It was stressful and very nearly ruined our relationship.
A year after uni we decided enough was enough, I packed up all my things and we moved in together. It hasn’t always been plain sailing & Dave occasionally bemoans that if he’d lived at home longer he would’ve had better savings.
But I can honestly say it was the best decision we ever made. xx
Ps. how flipping gorgeous are your wedding pictures?! You look stunning 🙂 xx
Aww Rebecca you are always so complimentary. You are a little gem.
How annoying your Mum moved away though. I think many other people would have had a strop too! x
We’ll I’m just mightily relieved that the advice I gave worked out. Would have been slightly awkward if not!!
On another note the boy I married actually changed his university application so that he could be located in the same city as me whilst we were studying. As romantic as that sounds we weren’t actually together at this time and rather than declare his feelings he waited three years to admit the real reason for moving. I think the word ‘stalker’ was mentioned in speech at our wedding! Ha ha! Xx
I love how you refer to him as ‘the boy I married’ – like he was one of many! Stalking obviously paid off for him! x
Lauren – your wedding photos are gorgeous, what a stunner you are!
My Husband of almost eight weeks and I met five years ago this coming Friday. We met in the local hotel night club (where his mother swore he would never meet a wife) the weekend I returned home from a five months solo trip around the world. I then had to head back to Wales to do my post graduate for a year, for the first few months we texted the odd time and then met up at Christmas for our first official date and the rest, as they say, is history. This post couldn’t resonate any more for me as this coming Monday I have to relocate to London from Ireland for a year’s post with work 🙁 We only started living together for the first time after we married so a mere few weeks after our wonderful wedding, honeymoon and move-in I have to up sticks!
Best of luck with the relocation Helen. So sorry to hear you have to move so soon but London is an amazing city. Hopefully the year will fly by x
Thanks, I’m very much looking forward to the Christmas holidays already and we are both excited about having a base in London to explore! Thankfully I have some very good friends living in London and with cheap flights these days it’ll be fun meeting up with eachother every couple of weekends! A lot of older married couples keep insisting that once kids come along we’ll both look back very fondly on our year of independence and excitement between home and London and no doubt this will prove true! I remember from my year in Wales after we met that we weren’t all that good at talking on the phone – fingers crossed that will have improved xo
Lauren,
I can totally sympathise with this situation. I first met my now fiance (getting married in two weeks on Saturday – eep!) at university but we didn’t actually get together until after finals, when we had both obviously made plans for the following year (me going to law school and him taking a gap year to travel).
So there then ensued a six month long distance relationship after only being together for a maximum of 4 months beforehand. We did manage to stick it out during this time (although it was very hard at times) and then we had role reversal the following year when he went to law school and I went travelling for year before starting my professional training.
He did also recently have to go overseas for work last year for six months – that wasn’t easy either especially as we had just bought a flat together, however I do geniunely believe that if you really like someone you work damn hard to make the long distance work – I think its just a gut feeling?!
Totally agree Emma – we were both very committed to making it work and at the time I didn’t know any different. I expect it’s a completely different ball game when you usually live together and then have to be separated for a bit.
Very exciting about your upcoming big day! Have a wonderful time x
Thank goodness for student railcards!! Oh the joy of those market harborough to Leeds via Leicester journeys x x
I’m sure Leicester station is a lovely place but I feel a pit in my stomach every time I go there! x
We had this from almost day one in our relationship. I was in my 2nd year at uni and Ed had just graduated when we met. He sort of hung around in our uni town for a while doing work experience but had to go and live at home in Yorkshire and temp to save money. He would get the train up to spend weekends with me. He was also planning on going to teach in Japan the following summer so we both kind of knew it would come to an end at that point. I got really upset at the thought of him leaving one night in our favourite cocktail bar. The next day he took me for a walk and said he had decided not to go. The best moment of my life up till that point! Within a few weeks he had moved up permanently and got a job. Another year later we bought our flat. I think the long distance thing worked quite well at the beginning, we spent intense time together at weekends and got to know each other very well but never for long enough to grow complacent or bored! We also had space to do our own thing instead of getting too intense too early (my flatmates c2004 might not agree with this entirely!)
We are often apart these days too most recently for a full week except these days we both worry more about the impact on our son, who has been known to ‘punish’ Daddy when he returns by rejecting the milk Daddy has poured him, and of course the dreaded pout. Thank god for Skype!
Wow Kathryn, how romantic he decided not to go to Japan!
Skype is amazing. James went to NZ recently for a few weeks and I don’t know what we would have done without Skype. It never works on the first go through!
I love hearing about how couples met and yours is a lovely story!
We met while at different university’s, but both in Birmingham. Despite me having lived in Birmingham for the past 3 years, I met Sean on a night out while celebrating the end of my final year exams – talk about timing!
After a month of us spending near enough every day together in my University flat, I moved back down south to start my job in London, while Sean stayed in Birmingham to finish his degree.
After a year of either him travelling down, or me travelling up every weekend, he graduated and got a job in the Midlands – which either meant more living apart, or a big compromise for both of us.
We went with the compromise and moved to Northampton – the half way point between both our jobs, meaning a long commute for us both.
3 years later and I still think it’s the best decision we made – we’re now married, expecting our first baby, and have just made the leap and bought our first house, which should hopefully be completed in a few months.
Back in the early days a friend gave me some good advice about long distance relationships – if you both want it to work, then it will work.
This couldn’t be more true – we both decided that the travelling back and forth (plus those Monday mornings of getting up at 5am to catch the train back to London!) was worth it!
It’s really interesting you compromised half way Becca. I suppose we ended up in Northamptonshire because of James’ family but it would be a different situation if his family weren’t here.
It sounds like a really exciting time for you both and the sacrifices you have both made are definitely worth it. Many congrats on the baby and the house x
I met my now-husband on my gap year and we basically did long-distance from the start. He lived in London and worked full-time, whilst I was living at home in Sussex and working at Claire’s Accessories (oh, the glamour!). We spent all our time texting and phoning, along with the occasional meet up. And then, because it was my gap year, I went to America for three months to be a camp counsellor! And then I came back for a month before I headed off to uni in Wales…! Poor guy, I don’t think he quite understood what he’d signed up for! But we made it through – a few bumps along the way, but nothing drastic. It was harder for him than for me I think – he didn’t do the uni thing himself and there is an age gap of three years, but he trusted me and vice versa. And I spent most holidays with him and every summer, I basically just moved in with him (with the vague hope that getting a summer job in London would be easier than back home – it wasn’t!)
I think it made us stronger as a couple and I personally think it’s healthy not to spend all your time in each other’s pockets (although perhaps we did take this to the extreme!). We’re both comfortable with our own company and we do often take days to spend on our own (he goes to football most weekends and is usually out all day and to be honest, it’s lovely just to have some time to myself!) It might not work for some, and maybe our relationship would be different if we hadn’t done 4years long distance, but it works and that’s the main thing!
Reading all these comments made me realise I had it easy!
You are right to point out about what works for you is the main thing x
My husband and I met ten years ago, when were both living in NZ (we are both British). We were nothing but friends then, I left and came home. He stayed out there another 8months. We lost touch and I thought that was the end of the story. Eventually a mutual friend put us back in touch. He was back in the UK living with his parents in the Lake District. I was at my folks in Leeds. Ours was a long distance courtship, we went on the odd date here and there, talked constantly until we realised we were no longer friends (this lasted a year). By this point he had moved to Cambridgeshire and we finally decided to make a go of it. We were long distance for a year. It was hard and to be honest I don’t think I could do it again. I can’t count the number of times I would get up at 4am to get the 6am train back to Leeds. I cried everytime I left. He would visit me every other weekend, but it was never enough. It was rough. In the end we realised one of us had to move. He couldn’t so I made the leap. We have now been living together for seven years and married for three. I don’t regret a single bit of the two years we were long distance. Yes it was hard, but if you are meant to be together you will make it work. I honestly think it made us stronger as a couple, we know we can survive on our own, but we chose to be together. It wasn’t just something we fell into, we had to make it work. 🙂
Oh Alex, you have made me well up. Love that you say you can survive on your own but you chose to be together. You little trooper x
It’s so great reading all your lovely stories, ladies.
I actually met my fiance when I was 11… no, not a child bride, but we were in the same form when we started high school as terrified little-uns, and got together at 16 after a few trips to the cinema, a burnt pizza and a horror movie at his Mum’s house!
We got through our GCSE’s and A Levels together, then went on a grand adventure to Australia at 18. We thought we were indestructible, but nearly broke up the following year due to more factors than I’d care to mention.
Cue university! Looking back, I honestly think it saved us… as hard as it was at the time. I was at the Arts University Bournemouth and he was in Warwick. We both had our own friends and our own lives, for the first time since we were 16. But then there were the long drives in the dark on the rainy M40… and A34 and M3 and M27… late night Skype calls, lost mobiles after nights out and the subsequent panic (ok, that was me, poor Jono!) and the awkward evenings in with the housemates, not to mention always feeling slightly lonely no matter how many friends were there… you all know what I mean. Sunday nights were always the worst night of the week, totally agree.
He proposed to me in Paris, on a surprise trip for my 21st birthday (I know!) and we’re now living in a lovely little village in Bedfordshire while he finishes his Masters.
But it doesn’t end there, because as well as writing his thesis, he’s been working for a motorsport team that travels all over the world for races. Leaving me in Bedfordshire, on my own, with (at first) no friends in the area, often for 5 days at a time. That first winter after uni was THE WORST. I think I’m still getting uni withdrawal, but living with him is totally worth it. It’s cemented everything we had, to a degree I didn’t even think possible. We’re getting married next July, nearly 13 years after that terrifying first day at school, and I can’t wait!
Becca, I was so hoping someone would comment who had a relationship before uni and carried on after. This is something else though! I reckon the speeches at your wedding are going to be awesome with such a story to tell. x
Aw thanks! I must admit I’m slightly dreading my cousins’ speech… they were privy to all the extremely awkward MSN chats between me and him before we got together. Diiieee.
This has been a pleasure to read 🙂 my fiancé and I met and uni (first year housemates!) and have lived together our entire relationship. We are currently buying our first home together and relocating to Derbyshire from York. James has already got himself a job sorted but I haven’t yet and we will be living apart or the first time in a couple of weeks until I get a job (anyone hiring in the East Midlands?). I was dreading it, but after reading so many positive comments I’m feeling less stressed and just going to look forward to when we can live together again!
Thanks Iz x
It has been lovely to read how it all worked out so well for so many people.
Best of luck with the move Isobel. I’m sure a fabulous job will come up very soon x
My fiancé and I did long distance for a gruelling five years! We meet when I was only 18 and in upper sixth; it was going to be a six month fling til I left for university. The night before I left for uni I kissed him goodbye and told him it was over, I wanted to go to uni without any ties. He accepted that, but asked me to text him and let him know how my first few days went. I duly did so, then called him a few days later to chat, then found I was texting him or calling him every day… My housemates from those days will remember me sitting on the floor of the first floor landing for hours, talking on the only landline, which I was the only person to use! At the point where he came down to visit, about 2 months into my first year, we decided to accept that the breaking up thing hadn’t really worked out, and to give long distance a try. Throughout my first and second years of uni we would manage to see one another during holidays and managed a visit about every 6 weeks. Then, as a languages student, I moved abroad for my year of study abroad. I lived in Quebec for four months, and he couldn’t afford to visit. But I can honestly say, he kept me sane. He sent monthly care packages of tea bags and “real” chocolate, and various other goodies, and we talked via Skype most days… We cracked a great timing system of me calling as I arrived home from a night out, just as he was getting up for work! Then I moved on to Germany, calls were more sporadic as my internet connection was poor (yay rural Germany!) But he managed a visit!!
At the beginning of my final year of uni he passed his driving test and was able to visit more often, I was so excited to have him visiting every month. One memorable time he drove all the way from Carlisle to Sheffield for less than 24 hours with me just to fetch me medicine from the shop and look after me because I was ill.
We had planned to move in together after I finished uni, but at the time he was tied up with a college course in Cumbria, and I didn’t know where I’d be going as I was applying for jobs anywhere there was one. So the long distance dragged on for another year of monthly visits, phone calls, and too much time apart. That was particularly tough, as by then I was living alone, without friends to fill the space outside of work.
But finally, eventually, there were no more obstructions, and he moved to be with me. We’ve now been living together 3 years, and our story has reached shiny ring and looking at long white dresses and suits stage. In a funny way, moving in together presented a new challenge for us, because we were both so used to being able to go off and do whatever we wanted, that remembering there was someone else really, properly sharing our lives who should be consulted was a bit of a shock!
Long distance was tough, especially doing it for such a long time, but it gave us both time to grow up, which was needed since we met so young, and I think it was important that neither of us sacrificed our dreams to make it work, because now neither of us resents anything. Plus, it really, really tested our relationship which means we’re very secure now so, although we love living together, we’re pleasantly independent; there’s no drama when I decide to go off on holiday with my mates, or if he has to go away with work for a few weeks at a time. We know we can handle whatever comes at us, because we handled so much when are were apart, now we’re properly together we’re think we’re pretty invincible!
Any man who puts together a care package is a keeper Penny!
Have a wonderful time planning the wedding.
My Fiancé and I have been in a Long distance relationship since 2008/9. Like a lot of you we met at uni and got together quite early on in our first year. After 3 years of being in the same city, except during the holidays when we would have to travel across the country from Cambridgeshire to Shropshire (a mere 2/3 hours!).
After uni I moved back to my parents in Cambridgeshire to work whilst he did his 4th year in Sheffield. That summer I went to India for 3 months and he started his job in Bristol. We broke up for a short while after I came back and I moved to London to start a job.In 2010 we reignited our relationship and had a LDR from London to Bristol. Then he moved to France with work and I moved to Glasgow, he moved to Australia and I moved to China. He then moved back to Bristol and I moved to Mali. He moved to Chester and I moved to London, then I moved to Zambia, then back to London and he moved back to France. Then we had 3/4 months together where I was between contracts with work and moved to live with him in France (yay!). Then I headed back to Zambia at the beginning of 2013 and have now lived in Reading since October 2013 – he still lives in France! Although our long distance relationship of Reading to France seems particularly easy after all that we’ve done and we manage to see each other at least every other weekend, if not more. I can’t knock my weekends in the South of France. We’re still not 100% sure what we’re going to do when we get married next July, but hoping we can find somewhere that we are both able to work and only do long distance for a few months after our wedding, if at all! So with 8.5 years together and having about 5 years long distance people always ask us how we do it and how we cope, but I think if you know that you’ve found the person for you can cope with anything. I really think it has made us stronger, we appreciate the time we have together and it also means that we don’t depend on each other and can flourish as individuals as well as a couple. I do look forward to the day when neither of us have to travel to spend a weekend together though. We even own a house together in Reading – but he’s never lived in it!
Natasha I hope you collect air miles!
Your story is incredible. I’ve been re-reading it open mouthed! You must come back and tell us if you decide to relocate after the wedding.
After my husband walked out on me after almost 20 years together without saying goodbye to our two daughters (15 & 13 at the time), I never thought I would find love again. But you never know what’s round the corner do you? Who can say when is the right time or who is the right person?? But then a few months after, my world that had been tuned upside down, then turned on it tails when Chris came into my life. And here is when the story of my unique and very special long distance relationship begins…
*deep breath*
Chris is my first cousin. We had never met as his Mum (my mums sister, my godmother) and his Dad moved to Australia over 40 years ago. In fact I don’t even recall meeting my Aunty Val although as I grew up, we were pen pals, as I told her of school, college, boyfriends then later on my husband and daughters. Anyhow, her husband died a few years back and after getting my mum on Facebook (what a godsend!) and her being on it too, the sisters could finally keep in touch properly, but they hadn’t seen each other in all those years, until Aunty Val decided she was going to finally make the journey out of Oz to see my mum and her other siblings. I was curious about my cousin Chris and his sister Tracy. I was pleasantly surprised at how good he looked for his age. I had followed his life through Aunty Val who had sent me photos of him as a police cadet (I had a thing for men in uniform!). Strangely enough, it was his photo I had on my wall as a teenager! I received photos of his wedding and his 4 children as they came along. So, I messaged him, as his cousin, with a casual ‘g’day cuz, it’s your pommy cousin here….’ message, saying how nice it would be to catch up with him when he flies over with his mum. He replied that it was good to get to know extended family and he was looking forward to meeting us all.
Well, to cut a long story short…our messaging became regular, we both began to look forward to receiving messages, that in the beginning were weeks in between, and then became weekly, then daily, then all day. We discovered that we were both feeling things about each other but was it wrong? We were cousins! But we’d never met, so put it aside. After months of messaging we finally spoke and all those beautiful words and messages came through in the spoken word. We had to meet! Working shifts on a gold mine he worked one week on, one week off, so was able to come over for a ‘stealth’ visit (at this point no one but my daughters knew how we felt). We needed this visit to see if the words that had come through in our spoken conversation would feel so real in person. After all, you can’t fake a kiss can you? Anyhow, we needn’t have worried. We met for the first time after almost 5 months of messaging. It was perfect!
But….despite both being adults and in our late 40’s, him with four grown up children AND grandchildren, and me with two teenage daughters, and after everything I had been through, we were suddenly facing opposition from our mothers!!
Despite this, and faced with the distance (could you get a more long distance, long distance relationship??) we knew how we felt for each other. We knew all the obstacles and challenges ahead of us and decided to give it a go. Chris had said from the start that he had ‘waited 50 years for me’ !!
Anyhow, still trying to cut this short and failing….we spent last year with him coming here every couple of months on his breaks, sometimes for only 4 days! In his words, I was worth every cent! My girls and I had our first holiday to oz last year and on one of his trips over, last October, on our journey to Disneyland Paris, he proposed!!! Almost a year to the day of my first message to him!!
Who’d have thunk ?!? Unfortunately the constraints of finances have meant that he hasn’t been over since then and our last trip to oz at Easter this year (thanks to a credit card) is the last time we have held each other. He is hoping to come over in October, which by then will have been a loooong six months.
But thank god for the wonders of technology. Without Skype, viber (free wifi calls) and his many visits last year (which has been a huge investment in our relationship – it cemented what we have ), we wouldn’t be where we are now, planning our future…me and my girls emigrating to a better life in Australia! Just waiting for final bits for divorce and then the visa process can start. Finally I can see the light at the end of the tunnel…and it’s so exciting. I can’t wait to start planning our wedding day!
I really believe in fate and destiny and think our union was written in the stars. I will always cherish our very unique relationship and the journey we have travelled so far…still a way to go, but it’s in sight.
It’s so good to read other people’s stories and see that lots of us have gone through the same thing! When I met my husband, I was 17 and still went to school whereas he was 20 and in the German army. So ever since then we only had the weekends. I really agree with Kathryn though it really made us appreciate each other and time spent together that much more. We were lucky enough that he wasn’t sent on any dangerous places but sometimes right to the other end of Germany. However he always made the effort to drive all the way to see me at least every second weekend. When we got married last year, almost 9 years after getting together, we only got to live together because he got really sick. Things are looking up now though. He starts uni in the town I’m working in, we are planning on buying a house and we absolutely love living together. The simple act to coming home to my husband ever day gives me so much pleasure and happiness. He’s gone for the night today though and I must admit I enjoy an evening to myself too ;D So I believe everything’s just about right!
Soo cute and lovely pics. This story is rather familiar! I met my now hubby when we were just 17 and made the decision to live together at uni which was a big step. We had randomly both chosen Bristol as one of our unis, although later found out Edd really wanted to go to reading but chose Bristol so we could be together. Cute! Anyway, after 4 years of uni we both moved home and I got my job at an ad agency and a week later Edd informed me he was moving back to Bristol. Needless to say I was rather upset but we spent 2 years trying to make it work. I’d rush down after work on a Friday and head back early Monday morning or vice versa. It felt like I lived out of a suitcase and wasn’t the easiest time. In those 2 years I bought a house with my sister and so moving to Bristol wasn’t really an option and wasn’t sure I wanted to. Luckily Edd saw sense and made the move back to worcester, proposed, we bought a house, got married, bought another house and had babies!!!! So it all worked out. Now the only long distance we do is with his job as he spends most his time in London and is often away in the week but we manage and weekends are all the more fun now! Xx
Meeting at 19 and 21 must be a thing! I met my fiancé during our part time student jobs in 2010 when we both lived in Glasgow. He lived there until he finished uni and then took a job in London in 2011 when he graduated. Luckily it was a good job and with an airline so flights were ever so slightly cheaper and we managed to still see each other fairly frequently (maybe twice a month, three times if we were lucky). A year later, Stuart proposed to me in Moscow and now, three years after Stuart moving down south, I have moved down to finish my own education here. We now have a gorgeous flat together and are saving up for our wedding in Glasgow in 2016. Good things come to those who wait… 🙂
I met my boy seven years ago. We had 5 days together before he left for America. We did cross-Atlantic long distance, as broke students, for 2.5 years until we both managed to get jobs in New York and moved there. Moving in together to a tiny studio flat was almost the hardest part – we’d gone from seeing each other every 3 weeks to living on top of one-another. Quite an adjustment. But here we are many years later, in a lovely flat in London with a beautiful dog. I knew it was something special in those 5 days we had together right at the beginning and I’m so glad I ignored my more sensible side (and all my friends!) and gave long distance a whirl.
I thankfully managed to avoid a long distance relationship with my now husband (I had one previously which ended in total heartbreak – mine not his – which spanned from Glasgow to Luxemburg!! Beautiful city, don’t think much of the men right enough ;P)
We met when I had finished uni and moved back to Glasgow, we were working in the same restaurant and shared late night walks home as we lived in the same area of the city. Cue me then finding a post grad course…in Edinburgh. I basically told him I was moving (after the aforementioned heart break I wasn’t letting boys get in the way!) and if he wanted he could join me. So this resulted in us moving to Edinburgh together and living together within 6 months of being a couple. We realised this could make or break us, and thankfully it well and truly made us! He moved cities for me and I will never forget it, after the uni course we promptly moved back to Glasgow (you’re either a West Coaster or East Coaster, what can I say!) and were married 4 years and 11 months after we got together.
I LOVED reading all of these stories and Lauren your Wedding pictures are STUNNING!
I met my (very) soon-to-be husband almost 7 years ago, at work in Manchester (where I lived, and where he was running a training course for the day), when I was 18 and he was 25. I saw him across the office and felt something I couldn’t really explain, cue our first date a few days after the Christmas party – where we’d been chatting all night – and after a magical first date whilst he was still in Manchester we had to say goodbye. He went back to Kent and our long distance love started. I travelled from Manchester to London most weekends (I love my young person’s railcard!) and loved the time we had together but every Sunday afternoon was awful, I missed him from the moment I stepped on the train back. But it taught us trust and commitment and how strong we are as a couple and as individuals and it worked out well for us. I moved to Kent to live with him after 18 months of long distance, lucky to have a month out of work whilst I moved and started to apply for roles in London. But’s it’s been perfect since, I am so grateful for the love we have and how happy our relationship is, I see living together as a luxury as it’s something we once didn’t have and I think that approach helps me keep a good perspective. Plus, my super romantic sweetheart took me back to our first date restaurant and proposed with a picture of us in the same place almost 6 years before in September last year. And in just over a month I get to marry the love of my life, sometimes I just have to pinch myself that I’m so lucky! X
Hello Anja, Charlotte, Michelle, Annie, Anna, Laurie and Kate!
Have loved reading all these romantic stories. Good things definitely come to those who wait 🙂 x
Ah it is so nice to hear that I am not the only one who jacked in a career to move closer to a boy! It was the one moment I have let my heart rule my head and gone against all advice from friends and family. Finding a grad job in the middle of a recession was nigh on impossible so we were both forced to accept what we were offered. Cue me moving to Manchester and him moving to Southampton. After many, many Friday nights spent speeding down the M6 and Sunday nights driving home trying to see the road through my tears (*sob!) I had enough and instead of making the trip back North I called my boss and handed in my notice! I am so glad I did as I am now happily married and living with said boy and so much happier in my new career. Sometimes your heart just knows best! x
Boo to the long trips home on Sunday evening Cat. Yey to making the move. Your heart does indeed know best x
In short…
I met Anthony in the February. He went to travel the world in the May. I flew to Thailand to see him in the August (actually ridiculous ‘I can’t cope without you head over heels in love 20 year old’). I stayed for 6 days. It was a LONG flight.
He came back 3 days before my birthday in the December. We went to New York.
We fell in love over emails and ice skating under the Rockefella Christmas Tree.
Our motto now?… ‘I go where you go’. And that’s exactly how we’ve lived for the last 9 and a half years.
Long distance love rules.
x
Becky, you are a cutie! It made me feel all giddy when you mentioned ice skating in New York x
I am LOVING reading everyone’s stories! Lauren, I want to know more!!
I met my husband in 2005 on a night out with mutual friends celebrating the fact I had just applied for a job in Japan. We clicked instantly despite it being the first time we had ever met (we are the same age but went to different schools in the same small town, with a lot of the same friends!) and became a couple. 6 months later I got the call to say I had the job in Japan. He was delighted for me and we celebrated. Leaving him at the airport was the worst day of my life. I cried the entire flight! The first two weeks were horrendous – no real internet connection, no mobile contract, we hardly spoke and it tore me apart. I wanted to come home. But when we did finally spoke, he was so strong – told me to stick it out and that he had booked a flight to arrive in less than 4 weeks! My contract was only for a year and suddenly it seemed do-able. He went home after the best week of my life, but quickly booked another flight to come out for Christmas (less than 10 weeks later). He stayed 2 weeks this time and we started planning our future together. I waved him goodbye with more tears but feeling happier – he would be back out again in April. Another 2 weeks together and the countdown on until July when I would be flying home. So a year of long distance, but he flew out to visit me three times – I had one of the best life experiences I think possible, and he was kind of by my side throughout. Within a month of flying home I had moved into his flat in Glasgow and started a new job in Edinburgh. There was no way we would do long distance again (ok not quite the same, but still a 100 mile round trip!) so for 5 years I commuted between the two cities until 2 years ago we made the decision to move to the countryside. Rural living clearly agreed with us as we are now happily married after a lovely proposal just after we left the city. Oh I feel all emotional re-living the last 9 years in this message! Lovely wedding picture Lauren, gorgeous xxx
Aww Maddy. Your love story is so sweet. It does make you feel emotional reading back doesn’t it?
Oh and by the way, part two is coming up on Thursday 😉 x
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So relate to this! My bf & I met in our last year of sixth form, getting together right after our exams and then ended up going to university at opposite ends of the country (Sheffield for me, Portsmouth for him). This meant three years of travelling between the two every 2/3 weeks and then another year of me travelling from London to Portsmouth as his course was for four years. To say it was hard is an understatement, but I do think it kept the ‘honeymoon period’ going for far longer, as we never had enough time to get annoyed with each other! Most people thought we were crazy, but 12 years later we’re still together, about to get married and (I think) closer and tougher for having that hurdle so early on. So glad to hear that you both stuck it out as well!