Hate to admit it, but I do consider myself seasoned when it comes to long distance relationships. For some reason, I was attracted to men living elsewhere… (Who am I kidding it’s definitely the accents.)  My friends & I were starting to refer to them by country (oops!) I later came to the conclusion that I just had commitment issues so that’s why I was comfortable not seeing them all the time. But then I met Stuart, my He’s Going.

Our love story really is my favorite. A mutual friend mentioned us being perfect for each other, BUT he lived in London and I was in New York. Go Figure.

Three months later we both happened to be in Miami and his friend urged us to meet up. I was smitten and after we parted ways we were texting constantly, but didn’t have plans to meet up. Since I had the past I did, I considered it a red flag and cut him off. I was disappointed.

Throughout the next year I crushed from afar as we occasionally flirted on social media. Eventually, Stuart had a business trip booked to New York – which he gave me 6 months notice about. When the day came I wasn’t sure if I was going to meet him, but my friend Kathy urged me to. She was team Stuart from day 1.

Meeting up for lunch turned into four days together. By the end of the trip we were dating and I had a flight booked for London in 1.5 months. Now time for the true test: What would happen between now & the next time I see him?! I was going to leave the ball in his court. After all, when a man wants a woman he gets her!

Well, to my surprise, I got FaceTimes and calls constantly. Stuart made me feel more loved from across the pond than any other man I had dated!

After our first reunion in London, we managed to see each other every 2-3 weeks.  From Ibiza, Miami, Vegas, Bali, South Africa, California, NY etc, we traveled around the world together.

Now of course, there were others who may have been skeptical. I’d get questions like do you trust him when you’re not together? Will you get along when you’re not traveling? Have you guys gotten in a bad fight yet? I knew they were questions asked out of love but I felt they made my relationship seem fake or not serious. I knew the truth so did my best to not let it get to me.

We made it work because we wanted it to work. I trusted Stuart because his actions continued to prove himself. Long distance relationships are a lot of work- constant communication and planning to see one another. I believe our hardest challenges were the time difference (only being able to speak half of the day,) and not being together for specific holidays and gatherings.

9 months into our relationship, Stuart mentioned to me that his friend was investing in a beautiful property and wanted us to move in! It was being built; so wouldn’t be done until end of summer. Living in London together was our next adventure… I was all in! Having an end game to the long distance got me through the next 9 months.

While this is all I wanted, it meant I now had to have a long distance relationship with everyone else I love- family & friends. Not to mention, getting a visa to live in London. If we wanted to continue building our lives together -this is the price I need to pay.

I tell this story while sitting in our new apartment in London 🙂 We moved in two months ago. Our traveling adventures haven’t stopped, so in between we are making our apartment a home. Our story, To be Continued…