Falling in Love Long-Distance, in Different Countries

When they began wedding planning they They got to know one another for more than three months before they finally met, they were in different countries at the time. They fell in love, and continued to build a relationship on trust and communication until they could finally be with each other, in the same country. some challenges, and so, staying true to who they are, Catherine and Audrey decided to start planning an intimate elopement instead. 

Tell us about being long distance, across two countries. 

We met online in July 2020 during the pandemic and spent three months getting to know each other before meeting in person. During this time, Jodie was volunteering at an animal sanctuary in Spain, and Dani was in Greece, but despite being busy, we found the time to message each other when we had free time. 

We finally met in person at the end of September, Dani traveled to Jodie’s hometown, and we went for pizza and bowling. Although we were nervous, we got on immediately and laughed the whole evening so much that Dani missed her train home and had to get a later one.

When we first began messaging, Jodie shared that her idea of a perfect date would be sitting out the boot of a car with blankets and watching the sunset while listening to music. A couple of months after we started dating, Dani set up the boot of her car with lots of blankets and fairy lights, put together a box of Jodie’s favorite treats, and took Jodie on a surprise date night to a reservoir to watch the sunset. 

While watching the sunset, Dani asked Jodie to be her girlfriend; the rest was history.

What is your favorite memory together?

Our favorite memory is from our first vacation together in Cornwall, England. As we began dating during the pandemic, travel was limited, but we made the most of exploring our home country. 

For the first few days, we camped by the beach, spending our days exploring different beaches and our evenings having BBQs and making s’mores. This is one of our favorite memories, as it was the first time we had been away from the pressures of daily life together. 

It was also the first time Jodie had been camping, and it is something we now do as much as we can. 

There is just something so magical about being outdoors in beautiful places and spending time in nature together.

Tell us more about overcoming the challenges of being in a long-distance relationship. 

The biggest challenge we have overcome is being in a long-distance relationship during the pandemic. 

We often went weeks without seeing each other, which we both found really difficult. However, we managed to navigate this by learning how to communicate with each other in different ways and understand one another’s needs. 

As we had both been in unhealthy relationships in the past, we had spent a lot of time working on ourselves and figuring out what we wanted in a relationship before we met. 

We think this definitely helped us through this challenging time, as it allowed us to be more open with each other and build a relationship based on trust and mutual respect for one another’s needs and boundaries. 

Although this time was really challenging, we learnt a lot about each other, and it encouraged us to be more vulnerable early on. It also encouraged us to be creative with our dates and how we express our love and appreciation for each other. We had games nights, pizza-making dates, cocktail evenings, indoor picnics, and we made the most of the times we saw each other. We are now living together and have created a beautiful home which we feel grateful for every day. 

Tell Us Your Favorite Thing About One Another.

My favorite thing about Jodie is that she has the most beautiful soul. People are often drawn to her as she has such a kind and caring nature and makes those around her feel at ease. I am in awe of Jodie’s creativity and her ability to turn something ordinary into something special. Although we are similar in many ways, we are also very different. Jodie is more boisterous, and I love that she brings out my fun and carefree side, whereas I am more calming and patient, which brings in the balance when something important needs to be done. 

My favorite thing about Dani is how thoughtful and kind she is. When we first started dating, she came to my house on Halloween with a bucket full of candy and sweets. At this time, only I was vegan, and she wasn’t. I loved that she had taken the time out to search for treats that were vegan. I also love that she is always up for going on new adventures, and although we both love trying new things, Dani is more willing to take risks and motivates me to challenge myself and carry on when things are difficult or out of my comfort zone.

Tell us about becoming LGBTQ+ influencers, and why that work is important. 

Over the past year, we have been building an online community by sharing our story and creating queer content. Originally this was a place for our memories whilst we were in a long-distance relationship, however, through doing this, we have realized that we can make a real difference through sharing our lives online. 

Representation is so important and still very much needed, and we love that we can use our platform to normalize queer love and advocate for those who can’t, in the hope that we may be helping others to accept and love themselves no matter their sexuality. 

Although it has been scary to put ourselves out there, we have found that by doing this, our confidence has grown, and it has had a huge impact on our self-love journeys. Social media can be a dark place, but it can also be an incredibly powerful tool. 

We are so thankful that we can be our authentic selves and have found such an inspiring community to share it with.