‘MY SCHOOLGIRL FRENCH AND THE DISTANCE BETWEEN US DIDN’T PUT US OFF’
Radha Borthayre, 38, and Eric Borthayre, 41, founders of a kids’ crafting company, Lincolnshire
When I met Eric, it wasn’t just cultural differences that divided us – we didn’t even speak the same language. Eric is from Provence, and I was living in the Midlands. We met online playing a wargame; we formed an alliance with other players, and Eric was my second in command. We lived miles apart and neither of us was looking for a relationship, but nonetheless things soon got flirty as we discussed our battle strategy on video calls. Then one day Eric sent me a message saying he was interested in coming to the UK for a potential date. And I thought: “Is this man serious?”
It was hard to have a proper conversation when we met, the language barrier posed a real challenge, as well as the distance between the Midlands and south east France. Then I visited France and fell in love with it, as well as Eric and his family.
My schoolgirl French and the distance between us didn’t put us off. In spite of religious differences – I am Hindu, Eric is Christian – our families have been supportive. It took them a while to get used to it, but they came round soon enough. The language barrier made it difficult to connect, but we have both learnt to speak each other’s language and it’s got easier over the years.
We considered living in France. But I’m a teacher and my French isn’t as good as Eric’s English so it made sense to make a go of it here, where Eric could work as a joiner. Eric moved to England in 2012 and we were married in a civil ceremony a year later. Maybe my family would have preferred my husband to be Indian, but ultimately, they want me to be with someone who makes me happy – and they- love Eric. Eric’s family have always been very accepting.
Eric is from Southern France, where everything is slower, and people have siestas in the heat of the day. He was shocked to find that everyone just works all the time in the UK. He’s taught me to slow down and enjoy life more. Looking at us, nobody would have ever put us together – not even us at the beginning. Yet here we are, happily married for eight years, two lovely children, running a business from our cottage in Lincolnshire and still going strong. There is a happy mix of languages, culture, food and just about everything else in our home.
Eric says At first it was hard to have a proper conversation when we finally met. But she was bubbly, funny and attractive, and we really connected. I knew she was the one after two or three months. We weren’t searching for a long-term relationship – it found us. We want the same things and are both open-minded enough to make it work. We have brought our differences together and created something special. We live and work together, marrying pretty much every part of our lives. Following one of Radha’s crazy ideas we launched our business, with me doing the manufacturing. We’ve brought our differences together and created something special.