Mars & Deborah Part-1

Mars & Deborah during Mar's visit to the U.K.

She's From: United Kingdom

He's From: Australia

As Deborah went to the departure hall to fly out of Adelaide I knew that the next few months were going to drag on slowly and that I would miss her like crazy. I just didn't want her to go but that was the reality of the situation. 

  
When she got back to the United Kingdom we spoke to each other at least twice a day and the bond between us was unbreakable. We made plans for me to go over to there to see her. So back to work it was for another 4 months. I'd never been on an aircraft before and had a huge fear of flying so that was our next obstacle to overcome. I booked a flight to Manchester and as luck would so have it the guy who was living with me at the time was travelling to England to see his family at the same time so we decided to go on the same flight which made me feel better because then I wasn't going to die by myself. 
  
He also had done a lot of travelling and knew his way around the big airports such as Singapore which is massive compared to little old Adelaide airport. Anyway the day came and I was just as excited as I was scared. 

As we arrived at the airport I took a look at this monstrous bird and thought to myself NO WAY. I just couldn't comprehend how that thing gets up there but I just kept on telling myself this is the only way I'm going to see Deborah and when I walked out onto the tarmac to board this thing I was terrified but kept my legs moving towards it. I'm sitting next to my friend Andy who's had so many flights that it was like riding a bus to him. 

The time came for us to take off and I remember seeing the hand lugguge compartments shaking at full thrust and my friend laughing at the look on my face. This was my first flight ever and it so happened to be a 21 hour flying time voyage to my first overseas destination. It seemed to take forever to get to Manchester but we finally landed and I remember feeling the cold air coming through the gaps in the boarding tunnel. It was freezing over there. We walked to immigration arrivals and I got the third degree from an immigration official who looked like she smiled as much of a chance as me winning the lottery. 

Finally made it through that and walked through the doors where passengers are greeted by their loved ones but no sign of Deborah, Suddenly I felt someone grab me from behind and turned around to see my gorgeous Deborah with a huge smile on her face. It was just one of those moments you know.

So after that 21 hour flight it was a 2 hour drive from Manchester to where Deborah lives and I just remember looking at the countryside with everything feeling totally alien like another world. It was fascinating.

I then proceeded to meet Deborah's family and friends and we had a beautiful 3 weeks over there. The worst thing is the feeling you get inside 2 days before you know you have to leave and the last night seems to have an such a finality about it. When I had to leave her again we were both in tears but I had asked her to marry me and she said yes. That gave us strength to keep chasing our goal to be together.

In Part Four we get married.

"Mars"

Shana and Michael

Shana and Michael together in the UK

She's From: United Kingdom

He's From: United States

It all started last July.

I was baby sitting my younger cousin Kristian while my aunt was out of town for the weekend. As it was getting late I put Kristian to bed and I began to watch TV.
Shana and Michael together in the UK

There wasn't much on the TV so I decided to go on the Internet for a little while. I had AOL and used to chat to friends on it, for some reason I was looking through the search for people who like baseball.

And I came across Michael, we chatted for ages that night about anything and everything. Michael and I became really good friends, and I felt I could talk about anything to him. Such as problems within my relationship at the time, My boyfriend at the time and I had been together for 2 years when I met Michael. Things with my boyfriend and I were not going very well and I used to confided in Michael who was always there to listen.

Weeks past and Michael and I talked on a regular basis, Michael would send me emails at work which used to cheer me up when ever I was feeling blue. Early September 2001 my boyfriend of two years and I went away on holiday for a week to Spain, it was torture all I could think about was Michael and ways to go use the phone with out being caught.

When I finally returned to the UK I rang Michael, The whole time I was away Michael had written me emails everyday telling me how lonely he felt not being able to talk to me.

It wasn't until the middle of September that I realized that I loved Michael and I ended the relationship with my ex. When I told Michael that I ended the relationship he was over the moon but still sensitive towards my feelings.

Michael and I became a proper couple and he planned his trip. On 3rd November 2001 Michael and I met for the first time in Gatwick airport. When I saw Michael for the first time I knew that I want to spent my life with him, I knew that this was the man for me. On the way to Michael's Hotel we couldn't keep each other's hands off of one another, I would catch Michael staring at me and vise versa.

Michael and I spent an incredible 4 days together, I just didn't want this beautiful dream to end. Within those days Michael was able to meet my Mother, Aunt Pam, and Uncle Peter who all thought the world of Michael.
It was horrid when Michael had to return to the US, but I knew deep down that he would return for me. Many nights I cried myself to sleep because I missed Michael so much.

On 7th December 2001 Michael visited again, but this trip was a bit different, My mum and I picked Michael up from Gatwick Airport and instead of going straight to the Hotel, Michael and I thought we would have a look around London at the sights. At one point we ended up at Buckingham Palace, I was leaning against the statue in front of the Palace staring at the Palace when Michael gets down on one knee and asked me to marry him. I was so shocked, but so pleased at the same time. In an excited voice I said "YES".

The rest of the day was perfect Michael and I had a little ray of sunshine over our heads, and nothing could spoil it. Later that night Michael myself, Mum, Aunt Pam and Uncle Peter all went to the Siege House to celebrate the engagement.

But all things have to come to an end at some point, Michael had to return back to the US for a college exam. But it wasn't long until we saw each other again, on the 16th December 2001 Michael came over to spend Christmas with me. We both made plans that I would travel back to the US with him on 31st December 2001 to spend New Year in Texas US.

When we went back to the US I met Michael's whole family who made me feel very welcome. It was so hard for me to return to the UK, we both considered if I stayed. But I wouldn't get to visit my family in a while, and I am so close to my mother.

So I returned to the UK and Michael gave up his apartment and began to sell everything he owned, so that he would be able to move to the UK and begin a new life with me. Michael fist went to New York and retrieved his Fiancé Visa and from there to the UK.

On 20th April 2002 Michael and I married at The Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Essex England, We both so excited about our future together. For anyone interested, our website is here.

"Shana"

Nina's Story

She's From: India
He's From: India

It's strange how things happen... you are trudging through the mundane weary lanes of life when suddenly, out of nowhere, love walks in and touches your life in a way that you know that nothing could ever be the same again. 
   
Something like this happened with me....you know how the proverbial , magestical, fairytale like words go....'and there will be a knight in his shining armour...he'll come and sweep you right off your feet...", lucky me , my knight is here and forever to stay. 
considering the eloquence and depth of love, it is stranger still to mention that this love crossed my path not in some busy intersection of life...i found it in the wide and ever-expanding world of the internet.

Both of us belong to india.for some reasons lets call me nina and him, arjun.. this incident happened in January 2001, and ever since my life has not been the same.  
 
That evening I was idlying my time on a local chat server called MIRC. guys were flooding me with private messages wanting me to answer to their weird and stupid questions. I was just surfing past people and names when, this particular question caught my eye...."good evening ma,am, how are you?". Well, for once I was taken aback by this flattering show of courtesy. back here in my country, we are a people of high standards of morality, courtesy and ethics. 

Well, I liked it, to be more precise, i more than like it. i glanced at the nick of this flattering stranger, it read, ARMYOFFICER....wow....now that was splendid...I mean what girl there would be who would like, just not be swept away by these handsome, brave...too damn confident and courageous men...I was no exception....well personally I always had this thing for army guys...they are like just so devoted....I mean everyone is patriotic but how many are there who would voluntarily quit that warm and secure place they call home and plunge into a life dictated by the norms of the he and all like him had my sincere respects and guess what he answered, "that's all we want ma,am..", its that simple, an act of simple respect can humble these larger-than-life men who lead such complex and dangerous lives....well, to come to my love story...we just took off.....we chatted for some one and a half hours when he asked for my telephone number...he wanted to call...

Waiting for him to call i felt a mixture of anxiety and a sense of bewilderment...for heaven's sake this was something that i had never done before....i mean there he was a complete stranger....out there in the world that i hardly knew....and here i was waiting with mixed feelings to talk with a man i had never known before those one and a half hours.

He called and to cut a long story short, we just took of. after that he called me twice a day. he now tells me that during those days his telephone bills dramatically shot up. Well after having talked for three or four days i was just casually chatting with him when I said that I have this special protective feeling towards him, the kind you feel for a brother you have never had.....boy....that just blew the lid off his hostile temper....I still quite remember how he curtly responded "I have one sister and I am grateful to god for her, I don't need anymore, thank you!" 

I was shell shocked. I just failed to fathom what exactly had I said to him to expect 'that' sort of response. i conveyed my thoughts to him and he said that right then,, right at that moment he wanted to talk to me urgently....there was something that he desperately wanted me to know. i was confused. the turn of affairs was baffling me. he called and guess what he said....in plain and simple, short and painfully straightforward words he told me that he loved me.....and you know what....I laughed...not at him....but at the sheer stupidity of the moment.....the whole concept of internet love and all was something I looked at with serious contempt before...I mean I just could not fancy the whole idea of two strangers falling in love without even knowing who it was they were falling in love with.... I mean they could be bald 55 years old peodaphiles!

I asked him that neither had he seen me nor did he know the real person I was....my sweetheart was quite unfazed....he retorted....'so what I will know now'......that was it.....so simple and plain for him him to say...I was evasive...I needed a little time to sort out my confusing thoughts......the only other worthwhile thing he asked me that moment was to quit smoking...., I swear... After that day we talked as usual and after seven days he came down to meet me.....boy.....till then I 'was' in love with this splendid , handsome and extremely courteous army guy.....my friends went all ooooahhhhh...over him....he's just that kind of man.

When we first met, to be honest, not one person alive could claim that it was our first meeting.....we were old buddies....classic lovers.....longtime sweethearts...that's how others perceived us........well that was the first time we met and so far we haven't left each other's side....in time we will get married.....but right now the ecstatic bliss of togetherness......the immense power of love...the complete surrender.....its all so good and wonderful...

He's my soulmate and my lifeline.....I fail to comprehend my life without him....it's him or it's nothing......and all....thanks to internet!

"Nina"

Ben & Jennies Part-2

She's From: United Kingdom
He's From: United States

The 18th of June 2000 was the day when our relationship moved from the world of the internet and the phone to the tangible reality of Wisconsin.  
   
  
My parents took me to Birmingham airport to catch a 10.20am flight. 

They were both quite happy with me going to stay with Ben...I thought they'd have been more apprehensive. Although, when I phoned my mum from Ben's house to say I'd arrived safely she did seem very worried and nervous. Was I nervous? I guess it was more of an excitable nervous. I wasn't at all worried about Ben being some psycho or someone different from whom he'd portrayed himself as. But I was apprehensive as to how we'd get on in person and how we'd manage to make the transition from an online relationship to an 'in-person' one. Ben's my first boyfriend and I was a little worried that my lack of experience with relationships would be a problem.  
  
Also, I'd known guys before who had really great personalities but I'd never fancied them. There was just no attraction and so I was hoping this wouldn't be the case with Ben & I.

My flight was due to land at about 1pm CST but there was a delay. Then it took a whole hour to walk from the plane through customs and baggage handling to the gate where Ben was waiting. All this waiting was definitely nerve wracking for him. It was also kind of hard to believe that we were both going to meet the person we'd spent so long talking to online. I was all impatient & excited after such a long flight but I wanted a chance to compose myself and brush my hair before I met Ben. I couldn't seem to find a bathroom though and so Ben just had to make do with me how I was. 

I came through the gate and there was a big crowd of people waiting, which was pretty intimidating. I knew Ben the second I saw him though...that would have been a terrible time to make a mistake. I'd told him what my hand luggage looked like, plus I was the only one on the plane with light green hair, so he had no trouble recognising me. He was standing near the back, over to the left side of the crowd and I made my way towards him. He was supposed to be waving a beaver chewed stick...this was his romantic meeting gift to me, as I like collecting things from nature. He had the stick under his coat though and so I think I went up to him and asked where his stick was. That moment is kind of a blur though now.

Neither of us liked being in a crowd and so Ben carried my suitcase, gentleman style, to his car, which was pretty close by. Then as we stood by the boot/trunk of his car he asked "Are we going to do this?" I thought he meant 'were we going to leave?' but he opened his arms to hug me. Thus we broke the awkwardness and hugged for the first time. I've read lots of other couples sites and many people seem to kiss each other as soon as they meet. This wasn't right for us though - we were both shy and needed to relax around each other a little more. Ben has since told me that he didn't expect me to be attracted to him and he didn't have too many expectations of a romantic nature. This and his nervousness meant that he wasn't going to be pouncing on me to kiss me. And I certainly wasn't going to be making a move on him at the airport. We're both glad we took our time.

We then made the two and a half hour journey back to Ben's house, talking about the scenery and such as we went along. I particularly noticed the abundance of pornographic warehouse stores on the highway, similar to the DIY stores on English motorways. We were greeted by the welcoming stick on Ben's porch. Are you seeing the theme here? Not flowers but sticks. Our own variety of romance.

Well, I'm not going to go into much personal detail about the first few days of our meeting. One thing I will mention is something on the non romantic side of things. I sometimes get travel sick and luckily I managed to survive the flight without being ill. However, it caught up with me later that first night. Ben & I were talking in his room and I had to run to the bathroom to be sick. It was a combination of the travel and nervousness. It did take us a little while to adjust to being together in person and for us to be comfortable and natural with each other. We were careful not to rush things and therefore ruin the emotional bond that we'd built online. Happily, we soon got on well and were at ease together. As for our physical appearances, Ben was fine with me having piercings and saw right past them. I felt the first tingly spark of attraction in the car on the way to Ben's, as I saw the arm rest and imagined us holding hands there.

Ben & I spent two weeks together in Wisconsin. We got to know each other a lot better and had lots of fun together, doing the traditional date stuff that we'd been unable to online. We saw Chicken Run at the cinema. The two main characters were an English hen and an American rooster who fell in love. We also were quite touristy...visiting Lake Michigan and a local craft barn. I met & stayed with Ben's parents and went to church with them one Sunday. I had my 20th birthday whilst I was there and Ben's parents were really welcoming and gave me a cake and presents. We spent the last couple of days before I had to leave in Chicago and visited Navy Pier.

It was such a horrible moment at the airport having to walk away from Ben...I turned to go but then went back to hug and kiss him one last time. I sat on the plane crying...one of the cabin crew came and asked me if I was alright. I got out my bag of crystals to calm myself down and inside it was a ring. I didn't quite understand then, as we don't have a British equivalent, but it was Ben's high school graduation ring with his name and birthstone. I've worn it round my neck since I got home. The best decision I made was to take the risk and the initiative and visit Ben...everything was so good between us in person and things have just got better since. I'm not saying that we have the perfect relationship, especially as it was so hard with the distance...but we worked through any problems we came across.

During the weeks before Ben came to stay with me in September, we spent hours talking on the phone overnight. I put the phone down on one such night, a few days before he was arriving here and instantly thought: "I've just been talking to the man I'm going to marry." I was thinking much further into the indefinite future, yet as it turned out Ben proposed to me on the night of the 20th of September.

Certain things just have to be done in person and proposing is one of them. I've heard of people who say that they're 'internet husband and wife', as they've gone through some 'online marriage'. Ummm, that doesn't seem to be taking the institution of marriage too seriously. Ben and I hadn't talked about marriage before really. In August my e mail service had been offering up little wedding trivia facts and I'd been e mailing them to Ben...so we'd talked about certain customs and traditions in general. Also, when we were in the park in June we'd seen a couple rehearsing a wedding and we both said how we didn't really see the point in that. We hadn't talked about the possibility of us being married one day though. Yet when Ben was here in September, I knew he was thinking about asking me to marry him and I knew that if and when he did, I was going to say yes. I didn't really have to do much thinking to know that. It just felt right. I can't imagine a better person to spend my life with. It was Ben who had to spend days considering if, how and when to ask and worrying about not having a ring yet. I just got to be passive and girly whilst I waited for Ben to think through everything.

We went to the theatre that night to see Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, which being a Romance, ended with two marriages. We then took the bus home and went for a walk into Beeston. I could feel that Ben was working up to asking me, but I wasn't nervous as I had the easy part. We sat down on a bench in the town square and I waited. I was being quite impatient, shame on me, especially as Ben was all apprehensive thinking that being 20 I'd see myself as too young to be married. But no, I've always wanted to graduate from university and get married and have children. Maybe because that's what my parents did, but that's always how I'd pictured my life. Thankfully it's all turning out as I'd hoped.

At about 1.30am Ben looked into my eyes:
"I want to marry you."
"I want to marry you too." 
"Will you?"
"Yes."

And then we held each other tightly with all the good love feelings and Ben's relief passing between us. All the good feelings felt even better now, when we kissed it was like kissing for the first time again. I'd imagined being in such a committed relationship before, but I never knew how comfortable I'd be with that someone. Ben and I can be totally silly together, but we can also be completely honest & sincere This really helped us to overcome the distance and work through any problems we had when we were apart. 

We chose an engagement ring together in Liverpool...a very lovely 18ct white gold ring with three diamonds. I had a bit of a hard time accepting that I deserved something so pretty and sparkly and lovely...but I'm definitely accustomed to it now. Ben had yet to meet my parents when he proposed. That weekend we went home to spend a couple of days with them. We didn't tell them that we were engaged though and I wasn't wearing the ring at this point. My parents both really liked Ben and when I did tell my mum on the phone the next week, she wasn't surprised and was very happy for us. I did tell my brother, Jordan, that Ben and I were getting married and he was all surprised and kind of screamed, hehehe. Ben told his parents when he went back home and they're both very supportive of us too. Yey.

I needed a K-1 visa to move to the USA and marry Ben. Our experience of this process is detailed on our homepage (see link below). Our application began in January 2001 and I received the visa on May 16th '01. I was lucky to spend 4 weeks with Ben and his parents during March & April. I emigrated to the USA on June 24th and we were married on August 20th 2001. My parents and brother flew over to be there and we had a small family wedding. It didn't go exactly to plan - the pastor was 45 minutes late and then kept mispronoucing my name. But the important thing is that we're now together forever. It does take some adjusting - going from being a British student to an American housewife...but I'm perfecting sloppy joes and peanut butter & jelly sandwiches. 

I'm so very thankful to have found my husband online. I never imagined that I'd leave England to marry a man I met in a yahoo chatroom. If you'd told me this years ago, I'd have thought you were crazy. It just goes to show that love can be found in unusual places. For anyone interested, our website is here.

"Jennie"

Ben & Jennies Part-1

She's From: United Kingdom
He's From: United States

Benjamin, age 25, is from the mid west of the USA and Jennie, age 21, is from the North West of England. 
  
Neither one of us were looking to meet someone on the internet, yet this is the story of how we met in a yahoo chat room, fell in love and got married on August 20th 2001.

Our story isn't quite that simple though...we were friends for 8 months before we became a couple. Plus, because I'm an 'alien' we had to go through the K-1 fiancée visa process to allow me to move to the USA to marry Ben. If you're in a long distance relationship, we hope our story will give you hope and encouragement.  

Ben and I originally lived a 3862 mile flight apart. This flight takes approximately 9 hours from Birmingham to Chicago plus there's a couple of hours of driving at each end getting to and from the airport. Central Standard Time is also 6 hours behind Greenwhich Mean Time. With all this distance it seems remarkable that we ever came across each other. But whereas we can measure this distance physically, it's hard to comprehend the massive space that is the internet. The odds of our paths crossing must have been so minute...which leads me to believe in the power of fate. I don't think I'd be so amazed if we'd both placed personal ads online and thus were looking for a relationship online. Or it wouldn't have been so unusual if we'd met on the emotional health discussion board where I posted every day. But no, we met in a yahoo music chat room.

I was in Vermont at the time, on an exchange program and so the time difference was only an hour then. I remember being online and none of my friends from the discussion board were around, so I decided to go into yahoo chat. I really don't have a clue what the date was, but Ben reckons it was most likely a Sunday night in September (1999) and I'll go along with that. I'd been in yahoo a couple of times before, but I didn't make a habit of it. With a female name all you seem to get are a lot of creepy blokes wanting to talk about sex. I went straight to the music rooms and the system threw me into one of many 'ska, punk and thrash' rooms. I was una_jen, 'Una' being the virgin maiden in Spenser's The Faerie Queene, who is saved by and marries the noble RedCrosse knight. This is a poem that I'd read for university from the 1600's, I think. The chat room I was in had only two people in there, someone called sk8er and my future husband who I met as Jaghurdamore... a name Ben made up for a monkey character who stars in a series of short stories he's written.

Well, from what I remember the three of us chatted for a short while and then ska8er left us alone. Although we were in a music room we didn't talk about music at all, except to say that neither of us liked punk. I was having a hard time in Vermont, as I hadn't really wanted to go on an exchange and somehow I ended up telling Ben all my problems, past and present, in detail. It's somehow easier to spill out a bunch of personal stuff to a stranger and Ben was a good listener and tried arguing me out of my depressive way of thinking. He remembers that night, as he'd never stayed up all night talking to someone online before. We swapped e mail addresses before we logged off so we could stay in touch.

I was in Vermont until late December and we kept in casual e mail contact during that time...I can't really remember if we chatted again in that time, perhaps we did once or twice. We lost touch over Christmas and during January as I had no computer access. When we made contact again Ben was all confused as to why I was in England. Ummm, because I lived there. He came across my e mail in his address book and wrote to me because he hadn't heard from me in ages. So during February 2000 Ben would send me e mails that made me laugh and I'd take two weeks to reply, as now I was having a hard time settling back into university in Nottingham. By March, after we kept missing each other being online in yahoo, we realised that we both had AOL instant messenger. So now we chatted when we could... more often and for longer periods of time as the weeks went by. Once we were both online for 15 hours straight, chatting for much of that time. Ben made me laugh on AIM, being what could be fondly called a 'jackass'. Whereas his e mails conveyed that there was so much more to him. I began to think what a good boyfriend he'd make but I didn't dwell on that...he lived on a whole other continent.

At this point we still hadn't exchanged photos. Ben has since told me that he had an impression of me having short black hair and not being pretty at all...hehe, thanks. My friend Liz helped us along on this issue. One night she came into the computer room as I was chatting to Ben and I handed the keyboard over to her so they could say hi. Liz was being all girly & bold and as I told her what a nice guy Ben is, she typed it up for him to see. Then she started asking what he looked like and I told her I hadn't seen a picture of him. On Liz's request, Ben agreed to send me his photo later in the evening. I sent him the only one of me that I had online, which was from Christmas 1998. In the photo I'm wearing a Christmas cracker hat which totally confused Ben as they don't have crackers in the USA. Swapping photos made our friendship feel more real and Ben got to know me better through 'meeting' Liz.

At this point in time we both started developing feelings for each other. There were a couple of clues that something was starting to happen between us: Ben had to draw a floor plan of his work for a college class and he included a little green haired stick figure, which was me being a customer. He also told me about a couple of dreams he had about me. One where he came to England to drive me to class. In one of his dreams he dreamt that he gave me a cactus instead of flowers, when he met me at the airport. This was really weird as I had a whole collection of cacti but had never told him. Then in 'Paint' I drew Ben a picture of a cactus. Hehe, I guess that was my way of flirting - sending him a picture. We also noticed that it got harder to say good bye to each other when we logged off for the night - hence the 15 hour chat perhaps. I also started saving our AIM conversations - I have a couple from the few days before we got together.

Around May 11th 2000, we became a couple. Ben sent me an e mail, in the midst of a migraine, with a few rhetorical questions, something like "Why do I miss you when you log off the computer?" and "Why do I feel depressed at the thought of going to work and not getting to talk to you?" Awww. He was worried that he was out of line even mentioning this and expected me to just politely dismiss him. I was nervous but thrilled. I sent him a rather confused reply, kind of warning him about all the weirdness he was letting himself in for. But when we talked on AOL later that night I let him know that I felt the same. We kind of skirted round the issue a lot. No way did we come right out and say that we were in love. We avoided the direct words but it was clear that we both had strong feelings for each other. Later that night we did address that issue and I agreed to be Ben's girlfriend. Hehe, it sounds like we were 14 or something but it was hard to get our feelings out in the open.

Ben and I were both a bit stunned at falling for someone on the internet...someone we'd never seen in person. Ben was particularly resistant, wondering "how the hell" this could have happened. As for me, well I'd never had a boyfriend before and now I had one, but he was on the other side of the Atlantic. So, as soon as we'd come to understand that we both felt strongly about each other, we talked about meeting and even the possibility of Ben one day living in England. Little did we know of the visa process back then. But we decided that the best thing to do would be for Ben to come and visit me as soon as possible. He was still in tech school at the time and so couldn't afford to miss classes until September. This was a good time to come visit me as I'd be in my flat at university and I could move in 2 weeks before the term started. This was all arranged in May...so we had a long wait until we'd see each other.

By the time June came around, I was already impatient and getting frustrated. I'd finished my exams for the semester and had nothing to do but sit and wait until September. So after much thought and a phone call to my mum (who told me to "Go for it. You're only young once") I asked Ben what he thought about me coming to visit him for my birthday, later that month. After a lot of discussion and sleeping on it, it was decided. On my younger brother's advice, I spoke to Ben on the phone before I bought the tickets. Jordan said I should make sure that Ben didn't sound too creepy, hehehe. We only talked for about 20 minutes (my phone card ran out) but Ben sounded far from creepy...just nervous cute and kind of like a cowboy. Though I feel a bit silly for thinking that now. It certainly offended him when I told him that, especially as he was saying nice things about how eloquent and sane I sounded.

There's often a question as to whether you can fall in love with someone you've never met. Is it all just a fantasy? Even though we're now married, I still find it hard to get my head around falling in love online. I do think you can fall in love with someone's personality. It's definitely possible to form a strong emotional connection through communicating and sharing your thoughts & feelings. It is a lot different once you've met in person though. You're then able to add the final dimension to your love. Perhaps it can be explained by saying that you can love someone you know online but you can only be *in" love with them once you've met.

Falling in love online is not something you should rush into. I'm really glad me and Ben started out as friends online and let things develop naturally. Yes, before we met we did feel that we loved each other and we told each other this. But we also understood that we needed to meet in person and see how we connected before we considered our future. I sometimes read stories of people who say that they're engaged when they've never met but that just doesn't seem emotionally possible to me. I believe the internet can be a great place to meet people...I'm a shy person and so I was able to be myself more easily online. But I also believe that once you've met someone online and you're in a trusting relationship, it is *crucial* to meet in person to confirm how you both feel. I'm also really lucky that Ben was a 100% honest with me. I was more honest with him than I am with a lot of people in my real life. If you're dating someone online and you're planning on meeting soon then take a look at our Online relationship advice section for some advice on safety. Thankfully Ben and I had no obstacles with honesty to overcome, but people online don't always tell the truth. We did have our own particular fears before meeting though...

Before I met Ben I had four piercings: my nose, right eyebrow, labret (below my lip) and tragus (part of my ear). Ben has a very strong needle phobia, which extends to a dislike of piercings because of the images they create in his mind. If we had originally met in person it's unlikely we would have become more than friends, as Ben couldn't conceive dating anyone with piercings. So understandably I was worried that Ben would take one look at me and that would be the end. This wasn't helped by the fact that the only photo I had of me online was on taken before all my piercings. Everyone I spoke to about this suggested that I just take my piercings out...hmmm, no one seems to like them except me. Ben was the only person who didn't suggest that I removed them and when we did meet he came to accept them remarkably quickly. Ben was also worried before we met, thinking that he wasn't weird enough for me, as he wasn't some long haired guy with piercings. Hehe, but I can tell you that he's suitably weird enough for me just as he is.

The 18th of June 2000 was the day we first met face to face... 

"Jennie"

Kathy and Todd

Kathy and Todd in the Fall of 2006

She's From: United States

He's From: United States

I had been separated/divorced for about 5yrs. 

I dated a bit but never found anyone who I felt I would want to spend my life with. My son was 4 yrs old when his father and I ended our marriage.  

I had tried love at AOL and met a lot of men... all at local coffee shops so that I would be safe and could decide if it was someone with whom I would be interested in. Nobody ever seemed to be what I was truly looking for. 

Then one summer day in 2001 I received a response from an ad that I placed with AOL. It was a guy named Todd who was employed by an airline in a city nearby. He lived about 40 minutes from me and seemed very nice. We emailed for about a week...then he had to leave to help a friend move across the country. I figured I wouldn't hear from him again, although he did send his pic to me and I found him attractive.
   
Low and behold, he instant messaged me upon his return home about a week later. We made a date to meet on that Sunday coming at a coffee shop in the city I resided. He drove down on his motorcycle and we had breakfast together that morning. I really liked him a lot. He was so kind and such a gentlemen - how refreshing it was! 

We took a ride on his motorcycle and ended up about 20 miles away at the ocean. It was fantastic! We shared an ice cream and a wonderful conversation. It was the best day I have had in years. We continued to date and get to know each other. At one point we almost ended our relationship because he failed to tell me that he was married twice before. We worked through that and remained together. After dating for about 13 months we talked about having a child together..he was 35 and I was 37. 

Although he was married before neither of those woman were able to give him a child (lucky for me!)..2 months later I found out I was pregnant. We married in January of 2003 and our son was born in June of 2003. We sold both of our properties that we separately owned and bought a home of our own in the next state over from where we met. We are going strong and so much in love. 

My oldest son is 14yrd old now and happy to have a little brother. My little guy is 3 yrs old and would steal your heart. I am so happy that "cyber dating" existed because I wouldn't have Todd or my youngest son if it didn't. I do tell people that you must be so careful and play smart, but your prince charming may only be an instant message away! 

"Kathy"

Mother Firefly

Mother Firefly with her cyberlove

She's From: United States

He's From: United States

Princess kisses Alien, alien is really a prince under a terrible curse...

In the summer of 2004, an acquaintance pointed me toward her art work on a little site called deviant ART. Being clueless about the site, I signed up thinking I'd be able to search, I couldn't, but I did find a really cool site. 

During my second week of poking around, and submitting some older pieces of art a comment was left on a piece (now hidden for it's shoddy composition) titled Echo. He had just submitted a piece of writing titled E'kos (pronounced echoes), so the title caught his eye. I wandered over to his profile page, and found him just adorable, then I scrolled down and saw that not only was he 3 years younger than I, he was also 750+ miles away. 

I left a comment and went on my way. Never to have anything but the last word, he came back and left another. Just as bad as he is, I went back, upped the ante, and left a private message saying that I hope he hadn't minded, but I had added him to my messenger. I didn't know anyone on dA, and a friend would be great. At the time I was trying to keep it friendly, he was young and way too far away. Some time later that day, he messaged me, and we spent the afternoon talking. 
 
He wanted to know what made me want to talk to him. I explained that just before I sent him the private message, I had been up reading all the incredible things in his gallery. I'm a graphic artist, but also a complete bookworm. We talked for hours, but when a friend of mine stopped by to tell me that the river had risen to flood a park nearby (I live in the north, but hurricane rains wreak havoc here), I told him that I had to run for a bit, and check on the park. I know that sounds odd, but it was a home away from home, and we were the few people who actually took care of the area. When I returned home, the first thing I did was sign back into my messenger, but he wasn't there. 

Not too long after he did sign on, and we talked until really late in the night. In the middle of a conversation he disappeared. At first I didn't think anything of it, but as 
time went by I was more and more upset about it. I emailed a friend and ranted on about why I should care that this guy I don't even really know stopped talking to me mid conversation. I stayed up a few more hours pretending to be occupied by a painting I was working on, but eventually went to bed feeling really dejected.

The next morning I signed on to find an email from the friend telling me that it's ok to like this guy, no matter where he is or how old. I signed into my messenger and before my contact list loaded, I was getting 50 messages a minute. He was there waiting, his internet connection had gone down, and only came back up in the early morning, and I was gone. We talked for a bit, but then I was off to play with my son.

I came back late in the evening and we talked all night. Around 6am he wanted to call 
me, but I had to get to bed, I had a year and a half old to entertain all day. I promised that he could call me later that night under the pretence that he was going to read me the only work in his gallery I hadn't tackled. 9:05pm (the rates had gone down) he called me and read the first 9 chapters of the book. I was completely enrapt; it was 
the best children's fantasy I had ever heard. We finished it two nights, which was 
insane; this is a long piece of writing. It was a combination of me loving it, and 
neither of us wanting to get off the phone. 

After a few days, it was nightly ritual for him to call me as soon as his free time kicked in. We talked about how it was a bad idea to get into long distance relationships, which he knew from experience, I agreed. One night a friend called me in a state, they needed me to come set up a portfolio and business card for them, and that the interview was in the morning, and they were failing terribly at getting it together. 

After a strong chastising, I agreed to come over and do it. I signed into messenger and 
told my long distance friend that he should ring me for a minute, I had to run out. We talked for a few minutes, and I told him I had to go. I was in the car before I realized that I told him I loved him when I had hung up, and that he had answered me. I went and got everything taken care of, and was home in a few hours. I signed back online, and of course he was there. He didn't mention it, and neither did I. I told him I was signing off, he called. It was the most hilariously awkward conversation with a lot of so...'s and uuhhh's. Finally he came out with it, something like "so, what you said earlier...yeah." I told him I was crazy, but that I meant it, and that it was the first time I'd ever said it without it being said first. Just an honest slip of the tongue. He agreed.

Now dear reader, you have to think that I am some crazy teen mother with a taste for art. To assure you- at the time I was a college educated 24 year old single mother. I am now a college educated 26 year old graphic designer with a toddler son and a wonderful fiancé who is not 750+ miles away.

Within two weeks of the fateful "L" word, I traveled across 4 states, arriving on a Friday evening, and leaving on a Sunday morning. I cried until I was back in my home state. Two weeks later, I made the trip again for a family reunion, and the meeting of the mother. A terrifying prospect let me tell you. This trip was four days, and I still cried the whole way home. That was September. I didn't see him again until Thanksgiving, and it was about the longest 60 days of my life. I got on a plane for the first time, and made my way through airport after airport. 

We were together for 9 days that time, and I cried from the last bit of his feet I saw, through security (and being searched because of change in my pocket), into the terminal waiting area, while the old southern woman consoled me, boarding the commuter jet, and until the last glimpse of his dorm towers were visible. He flew here for Christmas, it was the first holiday we had together, ant the poor guy was stuck in Chicago for 6 hours. I met him midway for spring break, which was scary- we drove through some of the worst snow ever. It was a long few months, but summer came, and I bought my last solo plane ticket. One way. I went to his college graduation, and we visited family, loaded our car and drove back to my home state. 

So, here we are, two years later- raising our little boy, surviving, engaged, and moving 
out of our tiny apartment and into our first house this Monday. It's been the longest, 
most wonderful, and new experience of my life. We were right from the very beginning- We loved each other, and long distance relationships are hard. Thank goodness we both communicate well. That's the key to distance relationships. You have to know how to talk to people, and you have to be honest from the beginning- or at least soon enough that when you tell them what you lied about they aren't completely appalled. We chose to be honest from day one.

So, that's my story... pretty simple I guess. I just wanted everyone to know how 
incredibly special I feel.

"Mother Firefly"

Paglia's Story

She's From: United States
He's From: United States

I was a thief and a hero: an odd mix of criminal and nobility... Usually kind and courteous - fiercely loyal to those close to me.  
   
  
I was pretty handy with a dagger and steadily becoming more and more ruthless when it came to correcting what I would call 'attitude' problems in those young upstarts who seemed to be flooding the lands of late.

He was a complete rogue. I dare say his dagger skills needed a lot of polish but I secretly admired his boldness. Still he was obnoxious and usually drunk and almost as irritating to me as he must have been to the gods. I had joined his clan now - so killing him was no longer an option... I would have to learn to put up with him.

And that's how I met my husband.

No, it really is. In 1998 I found myself a divorced mother of two children under the age of two. Between work and childcare it was virtually impossible to have a 'real' social life. Fortunately for me, I was handy with a computer. I also had always really liked playing games - video games, board games, role playing games... Any kind of game. 
   
I admit I frequented some chat rooms in the beginning - being starved for social contact... And there I made some really good friends - one of which inadvertently introduced me to the game that would change my life. The game was a text-based multi-player role-playing (lots of hyphens there!) thing - with a mildly medieval setting. The thing is addictive, I tell you. I had been playing for a year and my character had just become a hero (the highest achievable level in the game at the time) when I met him. And that's where the above story begins.

We were in this virtual world together.. Playing next to one another night after night... Our characters clashed in the most fantastic way. Others commented on the tension between us - like two characters in a fantasy novel.. You know - the ones you're constantly urging to get together while you're reading? As our characters grew closer (reluctantly at first but you can't always choose your allies too carefully when rushing out to slay a dragon) the most amazing thing happened.. we began to get to know one another... Not just the character but the person playing the character and we started to fall in love. The change became rather apparent in our characters as well and people began seeing us roaming together and wreaking havoc wherever we could. Suddenly a team - our characters were married by the gods in January of 2000.

In the meantime, we had met in person several times - in spite of the fact that he lived almost 1000 miles away. We instantly clicked and felt very comfortable with one another. We enjoyed one another's company as much in person as we had online - in spite of the fact that each of us were so very different from our game characters... Maybe BECAUSE we were so different. We often joke now that our alter-egos met each other first. Now let me tell you, that's something that everyone should try at least once. 

In January of 2001 he relocated to be closer to us and in March of 2001 we were married in real life. Later that year, he adopted both of the children. Now, just over two years later we're expecting our first child together in November. We networked our computers... and yes sometimes we return to our medieval land together and play when we get the chance. We're best friends and still totally in love and I still can't believe we met! I grin when people ask me how we met and am always happy to tell the story... We literally met in a fairy-tale world - and now we live together in complete peace and happiness in a way that puts the fairy-tales to shame.

"Paglia"

Natalie & Clayton

Natalie & Clayton on their wedding day 

She's From: United Kingdom

He's From: United States

Clayton and I met via AOL Instant messenger back in 1999. We were friends for a good year before we became a couple back in early April 2000. We finally met in person in August 2001.  

  
Neither of us were expecting to fall in love online, but yet here we are telling you our story. This is the story of our first meeting.

It was an early morning of August 6th, a sharp ringing woke me up; I stumbled for the phone on my nightstand. 

“Hello” I answered in my sleepy voice

“Hi baby time to get up and catch a plane” I smiled and woke up slowly, knowing that soon I would be in the arms of someone I loved so much. I said goodnight to Clayton, and got ready for the long journey ahead of me. My sister Sarah was picking me up along with my mother. I’d never flown before, and this was such a major step for me to take. Flying half way across the world, on my own to meet someone I’d never met before. And what made it worse was that I had to change flights in Copenhagen, I was taking a big risk. 
    
But I knew I’d be all right somehow I just knew everything would be ok. Although the other part of me was literally terrified, scared that Clayton wouldn’t like me once we met and vice versa too.

After a 2hr drive with my mother and sister we got to Birmingham Airport. With mixed emotions I checked my luggage in. I looked down at my watch, 10am less than an hour and I’d be flying. I sat in the cafeteria with a luke-warm coffee, I looked over at my mother, who was watching the planes take off. The look in her eyes told me that she was so excited for me. And from that moment I knew this wasn’t a dream, I was actually going to be boarding my first flight in 45mins. A tear started to roll down my cheek, I felt scared and alone. I cried even harder as I leaned over and hugged my mother tightly. 

“I don’t want to go now.” I sobbed. My sister smiled at my mother and said 

“I thought you’d be in tears before her” I wiped my wet eyes and took a deep breath my mother said. 

“Look you can do this, you’ve been looking forward to this for so long. It’s a chance of a life time to go to the States, you’ll be fine.” I smiled and hugged her tightly, tears from my mother started to fall, but yet she didn’t realize that what she had just said made me feel warm and happy inside. 

Finally my flight was called; I slowly walked over to the boarding area. I hugged my mother and sister. And gave my passport and ticket to the man standing there, I turned round and waved goodbye for the last time. Tears swelled my eyes again as I walked through to check my hand luggage. I walked down the corridor into the boarding lounge. I handed my passport and ticket, and I walked down the long tunnel and onto my first plane, bound for Copenhagen. I sat there with my seatbelt fastened I watched the ground slowly disappear, and then quickly replaced with sky and fluffy white clouds, it was amazing. 

I arrived in Copenhagen a little lost, but somewhat excited. I found my next flight easy, so much easier than I thought it would be. In fact I got there an hour earlier than I was suppose too. Time went by and I handed my passport and ticket to be checked, I walked onto my second flight bound for Seattle. A 10hr flight later and I walked off into Customs, the line was long, and I slowly walked over to a booth where my passport was stamped. Yaay I had a stamp on my passport! I slowly boarded a Transit Train, which took me to collect my luggage; I didn’t know where to go from there so I stood still. I noticed everyone going up the escalator in front of me. I walked a little to the escalator and I saw a familiar face, Clayton was standing right at the top. I walked on and watched Clayton move towards me, as the stairs moved to the top. I smiled and tried to speak but I couldn’t my mouth was so dry and I was so tired. He handed me a single red rose and I smiled, as I smelled the flower. 

“Mmm, thank you it’s beautiful.” He caressed my cheek and said “No you're beautiful, come here I need a hug.” He wrapped his arms around me tightly, and tingles ran through my whole body I smiled, as we held each other for a good ten minutes it was perfect. Finally I was with the guy I had fallen in love with, he raised my chin and kissed me deeply. As we kissed, our first kiss, I knew that things were just as they should be.

We collected my luggage and walked back to his car, the atmosphere between us was amazing I couldn’t stop giggling and he couldn’t stop holding my hand. All my fears I had at the very beginning had vanished. I know Clayton loves me for me and I love him for him. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

The whole 2wks were the best of my life every day was perfect, he made everyday all the more special. Especially the day when we went on a Cruise to Victoria Canada, he proposed with a gorgeous engagement ring, and I accepted. I know Clayton is the one I am truly meant to be with and share my life with to the full; it’s funny how it all started over an IM 6 years ago. We were married 6 July 2004. 

Our web site is here if anyone is interested.

"Natalie"

Some Words about the Author of Blog

Hi, this is Khaled Umer. I love to write blog, share my views with others. I have written many blogs and currently writing many others on different topics. Thanks to BLOGGER to provide such a great tool of writing blogs in such an easy way.

Following are my current list of blogs:

Online Money Making Schemes

http://make-money-on-internet-at-home.blogspot.com/

Online Money Making Schemes

http://make-money-on-internet-at-home.blogspot.com/


Cooking Recipes

http://kfc-cooking-recipes.blogspot.com/ 
http://pakistani-cooking-recipes.blogspot.com/ 
http://cooking-by-chef-khalid.blogspot.com/ 
http://simple-quick-recipes.blogspot.com/ 


Stories

http://english-love-stories.blogspot.com/ 


Jobs

http://it-jobs-pindi.blogspot.com/
http://it-jobs-islamabad.blogspot.com/
http://it-jobs-faisalabad.blogspot.com/
http://it-jobs-lahore.blogspot.com/ 
http://it-jobs-karachi.blogspot.com/ 
http://pak-it-jobs.blogspot.com/ 


Real Estate (Rental and Sale/Purchase)

http://rent-property-gulistan-e-johar.blogspot.com/
http://rent-property-gulshan-e-iqbal.blogspot.com/
http://rent-property-dha.blogspot.com/
http://rent-property-clifton.blogspot.com/
http://rent-property-northnazimabad.blogspot.com/
http://rent-property-northkarachi.blogspot.com/
http://rent-property-fbarea.blogspot.com/
http://rent-property-pechs.blogspot.com/
http://rent-property-afohs.blogspot.com/
http://rent-property-bahadurabad.blogspot.com/


Games Reviews

http://the-gameworld.blogspot.com/ 
http://games-and-just-games.blogspot.com/ 
http://myfavoritecomputergames.blogspot.com/ 


Cell Phones

http://blackberry-phone-reviews.blogspot.com/ 


Google Adsense Tips

http://google-adsense-tips-with-tricks.blogspot.com/

My favorite Blogs by other Authors

http://aqua-airliner.blogspot.com/