Love across the miles

IN what is a very modern love story with a local twist, an American woman has told of an online chance encounter with a Dundalk man and the long distance love that ensued.

Like many modern day relationships, Victoria Partridge met her fiancee Jamie Darcy through an online dating website, and they instantly hit it off. But the catch was, they lived on opposite sides of the Atlantic!

‘In July 2015, I met Jamie via an online dating site. We had both been single for quite a while and had recently created profiles on OkCupid.com. Not knowing of the other’s existence, we had both set our search filters to include people located anywhere in the world, and then sorted them by compatibility percentage, hoping to find someone who we would have a meaningful connection with, even if they were located on the other side of the world,’ said Victoria, who submitted their unique story to a competition in US publication, IrishCentral.

The couple started emailing back and forth and became instant best friends.

‘I knew early on that I wanted to meet him in person, to see if what we had was real. After a few months of talking to Jamie, I got my first passport and booked a flight to Dublin, arriving a few days after that Christmas.’

I was so nervous for the flight, as I had never had a long-haul flight before, nor had I flown over the ocean, which was a long-time fear of mine. And, of course, I was extremely nervous to meet Jamie in person,’ added Victoria.

After five and a half months of getting to know each other via OkCupid, then WeChat, and FaceTime, it was time for the couple to meet in person.

‘As I walked through the arrivals doors, there he was, smiling at me, and everything changed. All of my nervousness changed to excitement. It was at that moment that I knew that what we had was very real.’

She told how they spent the next eight days enjoying each other’s company.

‘Jamie showed me around Dublin, as well as his hometown of Dundalk. The first night, he took me for a pint at The Bartender and I got to meet some of his closest friends.’

That week, I met his entire family and we all had an amazing dinner at Eno’s. On New Year’s Eve, we crowded into St. Stephen’s Square and kissed at midnight, surrounded by locals, as well as tourists from all over Europe. It was as easy for me to fall in love with Ireland as it was for me to fall in love with Jamie,’ said a besotted Victoria.

The coupled continued their romance across the miles for months afterwards, and when Victoria visited for the second time, in November 2016, she was stunned by an unexpected proposal!

‘ This time, there were no nerves about coming over to visit Jamie, only excitement.

And, when I walked through those arrival doors, he was waiting for me as usual, only this time he was on one knee, with a ring.’