WE LIVED 5400 MILES APART FOR TWO YEARS
HANNA Glassman, 29, a travel PR, lives in Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire, with husband George Tyson, 30, a chief marketing officer for the app Navenu
Adventure, friendship and fun. That’s what I hoped for when I left my home in Los Angeles to go travelling in January 2017, aged 21. The very last thing I was looking for was a British boyfriend who lived an ocean away.
But love has a funny way of finding you when you least expect it.
I was in the pool in Thailand a few months later when I first saw George.
That evening we talked over a drink, and I felt a connection with this good-looking, confident guy.
It wasn’t until he joined my friends and I in a nearby village a few days later that we really clicked. Hours flew by as we talked about our lives and families. This wasn’t the usual traveller chit chat, it felt special. We were together from that moment on. But everything was about to change. I had my first big job lined up in LA and George needed to return to Slough in England to see his family. From being together 24/7 we were about to be 5400 miles apart.
We were determined to make it work. Even before our tearful airport goodbye we had a plan for me to come to the UK and him to America. We loved each other and would do whatever it took. We’d need that determination – long-distance love is hard. The eight-hour time difference meant that in order to speak George had to stay up late and I got up early. My limited holiday time meant it fell to George to make the long flights to see me.
But love got us through. We talked constantly, had virtual dates where we watched the same movie an ocean apart and made the most of every minute.
With communication and trust, we became stronger. Two years of long-distance love later, we both quit our jobs and went travelling in 2019. It was incredible to be together again. We knew we’d found our perfect person. So, when Covid separated us again in May 2020, we jumped into action. In October I flew to the UK, and we married in a tiny civil ceremony. Returning to the US while my visa was processed was tough. I never wanted us to be apart again. But at least we knew how to make long-distance work.
With paperwork finally in place, three months later I could join George in England and our new life could begin.
In December 2022 we had a second wedding in California. Saying our vows on the beach felt incredible. We knew we’d never have to be apart again.
We had virtual dates, watching the same movie an ocean apart