‘I married my teenage penpal’
For Helene Clynch, 41, her teen crush became so much more
Gathering up the morning’s post, I scanned the letters. I’d signed up to a pen-pal scheme through school and loved getting letters from all over the world. I was 14 and living in Germany, and the letters helped me with my English. In time, most of my pen pals fell by the wayside – but there was a handsome boy in the UK named Geoff, who I’d been pen pals with since I was 13. When I saw I had a letter from him, I was excited. “Sorry I haven’t been in touch,” Geoff wrote. He explained he’d been having a tough time and hadn’t felt up to writing. He added, “Hearing from you has been a ray of light.” My heart f luttered. We exchanged letters weekly, and the words f lowed.
Even at 14, Geoff’s letters swept me off my feet.
Sometimes, I ran to a nearby phone booth and called him, but as soon as I heard his voice, I’d get nervous and hang up. Once, I put on some lipstick and kissed a piece of paper. Then I placed it in an envelope with a letter to Geoff. Later, he wrote to suggest a phone call, not realising I’d secretly called him before. I nervously waited by the phone, but when it didn’t ring at the agreed time, I wondered if he’d forgotten. An hour later, Geoff finally called. “You’re late!” I said. “No I’m not,” he replied. We laughed when we remembered the time difference between the UK and Germany.
I loved hearing his voice, but we were both nervous and the conversation felt awkward. So, I suggested sending each other tapes instead. We recorded songs we liked and sometimes recorded ourselves singing along.
When Geoff was 16, he visited Germany with his dad and brother, and we met for the first time. Walking up to the hotel, suddenly, I saw Geoff running towards me and my heart pounded. Then he kissed me and my nerves melted away. “It’s so good to see you,” he said. “I can’t believe you’re here!” I replied. We strolled hand-in-hand as I showed him the city. Although our dads couldn’t communicate in each other’s languages, they bonded over a few drinks and laughed as they tried to pronounce some German and English words. There was a slight language barrier between Geoff and me, but we quickly worked it out.
After a lovely week together, Geoff returned home and I was heartbroken. But we kept photos of each other on our bedroom
‘I can’t believe you’re here!’
walls, and chatted on the phone for hours. We even made multiple choice quizzes to get to know each other better. Months later, I f lew to England for the first time, with a friend, to spend New Year with Geoff. I had a great time and from then on, Geoff and I f lew back and forth to see each other every few months. Being in a long-distance relationship had its challenges. Geoff and
I had a few tiffs, but our bond never broke.
Chatting on the phone one day, Geoff blurted out, “Will you marry me?” “What?” I said, stunned. “No, that was daft,” he gabbled, clearly embarrassed. “Don’t answer that.” The conversation moved on, but I had to get something off my chest before we hung up. “By the way...” I said. “Yes!” “Yes, what?” Geoff asked. “I’ll marry you,” I replied.
‘Our bond never broke’
I laughed as I heard Geoff dancing up and down the hallway.
Weeks later, we met for New Year’s Eve. It was minutes before the clock was about to strike midnight and ring in the new millennium, when Geoff dropped to one knee and asked me in German to marry him, and of course I said yes. After my 18th birthday, I moved to the UK and Geoff and I settled in a small bedsit. It was the first time either of us had lived away from home. I missed my family, but Geoff and I were a solid team. It was strange being with each other every day, but I wouldn’t have wanted things any other way.
We both started working together at Mecca Bingo and soon we got married at a register office in Southampton, Hampshire, with a reception at an Indian restaurant. Our guests were mostly Geoff ’s family and friends, but my parents and two friends travelled from Germany to join in the celebrations. And six months later, we had a blessing at a church in Germany for the rest of my family to attend.
A year later, aged 22, I gave birth to our daughter, Maya, now, 19. In time, we welcomed two sons, Noah, now, 15, and Ruben, now 13, to our family. Happy years f lew by, and our children loved the story of how we met. Without technology, our courtship was innocent, and spending so long apart had made our time together all the more magical.
Now, at home in Birkenhead, Merseyside, our kids are in their teens. Almost three decades on, we can’t believe how lucky we are to have shared so much of our life together. Looking back, it feels like the odds were stacked against us, but we’re just as madly in love now as we were back then. And we can still surprise each other – Geoff only recently learnt that it was me who rang his house all those years ago and hung up when I was too shy to speak. We’re proof that long-distance relationships really can last – and I feel like I really did marry Mr Write!
Geoff, 41, says, “I knew I’d fallen for Helene early on, and that love has only grown over the years. Long distance can be scary and difficult, but if you want it to work, it will.”