A woman in Australia and a soldier in Iraq fell in love but only get to see each other twice a year.
Long Distance Relationships by Peony Yip
I’ll just say it – I’m a suspect of skepticism over long distance relationships. I believe in the special role physical intimacy, and it’s going to be so hard to love someone you can’t be with all the time.
I’m not into romance and such. But this year, as manly as I like to think of myself, I have learned the best love story yet.
Liza’s in Australia and Rex’s in Iraq, perhaps without any assurance of coming back alive or in a casket in 6 months. There is discrepancy in religion – she’s an atheist, he’s a Mormon. When Rex decided to embrace atheism, his family also decided to disapprove Liza to the point of forcing him to choose between her or his family.
You’d think that a man would want his 240 lbs. girlfriend to trim down a bit, especially from a fit soldier. A gentleman would not say it hastily, but rather hint it or imply it to the girl. But Rex accepted Liza wholeheartedly and it is her utter decision to change lifestyle.
I still don’t know how this works out. It’s hard to trust especially when they met each other online. And there will be people like me criticizing and disbelieving their long distance love. These could be friends and family alike that’ll try to break the relationship, foreseen it as a dead one.
She flew to US to meet Rex for the first time, and it’s the scariest she has been in her life. There’s a lot of what ifs..
At certain instances they only see each other via Skype, Rex would have his moment of weeping, clearly missing the love of his life. Liza would be like, “this man could really cry!”. I guess he’s crazy for her, and she’s crazy for him. She flew (again!) to Rex in 2010 to surprise him, and you’ll see an incredulous yet very happy man.
They’re getting married too! Happy engagement and have a great marriage Liza and Rex. Read the rest of their romance in Liza’s Long Distance Love.
What’s the craziest you did for a relationship?
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That’s simply adorable!
It is! It makes believe in luuve 🙂
I was highly skeptical of long distance relationships myself, that’s until I met my wife. Here’s the background: My divorce had just gotten finalized. I felt like the happiest and most liberated person in the world. I was free to do whoever and whatever I wanted. At the same time I wasn’t in any way, shape or form, interested in a meaningful relationship. I was heavy into Facebook at that time. That’s where I met my soulmate (not realizing it at the time). We had quite a few mutual friends and we “liked” many of the same posts, would comment on mutual posts but never towards.
Well as fate would have it we began engaging each other on some of these posts; sometimes going back and forth for hours. We then went from the posts to messages, from messages to texts, from texts to phone calls. How would this ever work? I lived in Georgia and she was in New York. I travel a lot for my job and I just happened to have a trip to New Jersey. We planned to meet during this trip. We were both excited but slightly nervous. We already began developing emotions for each other and through the constant communication that had already taken place I know I had fallen in love.
When we finally met face to face, it was magically. Before me stood the most beautiful woman that I had ever had seen. From that day forward it has been nothing but bliss. Not to say that there weren’t issues along the way but we were able to overcome the obstacles. Thanks to my work schedule at the time, we were able to see each other once every two or three weeks. This went on for about eight months. I finally convinced her to leave all that she knew in NY and to move down to GA with me. We married not too long after.
The distance is still something we must deal with. I’m currently in Afghanistan instructing soldiers while she sits in wait at our home in GA. Sure it’s rough at times not being able to see the person that you love but it’s also something that can bring a couple together. Our bond grows stronger by the day and I can’t wait to be in her presence once again.
I am so glad you know how I feel! I too was totally against long distance relationships after a previous relationship failed when I had to move interstate for work after being together for 3 years – the distance was just too much for that relationship to handle and so it failed. When I met Rex online, I thought, “Oh, he American, just a harmless filrt, how could that hurt?” I was totally wrong and this guy I was talking to on Skype was the love of my life! I think the distance is good in that you develop those other ways to communicate, to connect on a level that isn’t just the physical and for Rex and I, I believe our connection is unshakable after all this. I guess the test is when we finally live together 😉 But, as we are able to deal with the problems of distance, I know we can get through other struggles as they are thrown at us!
Great to hear your love story too and that you are happily married to your long distance love! Liza 🙂
Sometimes love really can conquer all. I wish them all the luck in the world.
It’s a big gamble though, what Liza did. And looking at what they have, they’re extremely lucky already
Personal I had a couple of long-haul relationship and it worked fine, but it was a lot more than 2 meetings per year. I think it suited me better than my partners, because I worked all the time, but when we were together all my time was devoted to us. I rather have an ocean between my partner and me filled with friendship, devotion and care – then sleep in the same bed with an ocean in between. You can make a distance relationship very up close and hot, thanks to all the technology there is today. Wish them all the luck in the world, but they have a lot of work to do … to make it work. Getting married ??? Why ???
Why not get married viveka? Do you not believe in marriage? I don’t mean to make you defensive, I am truly just curious about why you don’t think we should.
When I met Rex I was completely happy not to get married, just to be with each other, committed and happy (I had seen my parents marriage fail terribly, and Rex comes from parents who have been divorced multiple times each). But it became obvious through our discussions that marriage was an important thing for Rex and so we talked about it all again. Our wedding will be very non-traditional (don’t think my parents will be too happy about that), but if we are getting married, we’re doing it our way. I’d really like to know what your thoughts are, have you posted about this topic before?
I also take on your words of having a lot of work to do – despite how airy I may sound, I believe Rex and I are very grounded. I know that when we finally live together we will of course have teething issues and such, working out finances, all those usual things of relationships, but also adjusting to actually being with each other 24/7, rather than a few hours on Skype each day. I think we are as best prepared as we can be and hope that with what we have been through already with stress, death, trauma and distance, that we can get through what comes next – it will be a lot of work, but it will be worth it 🙂
I’m happy that you want to get married – but why the hurry … to be honest I’m not a great believer in marriage – because nobody has really proven to me that it works and I have seen in my own family – my mother married 3 times and still didn’t find happiness. I have friends that has been living together for a couple of years and 3 years or less – they have divorced. Have friends that married after a couple of months and they are divorced too.
So happy for you two and I know it’s possible to keep a relationship alive with a distance – mines has been that great as yours, but it worked, but it can’t drag on forever – because it tear in the long run. It’s your lifes and your believes that counts in all this. It’s what you make it to. As you say – it’s going to be hard work. It’s like being the lover/mistress … when you meet everything is so special – when it’s 24/7 – it’s a total different ball game …. When the everyday life sets in – it’s a big difference to be the lover then being the everyday partner.
I definitely understand what you are saying, but I do believe we are realistic about this – we don’t just keep it so we only see the best of each other – we have our arguments on skype every so often, emotional breakdowns, the whole gamut of emotions. We really don’t see each other as lovers I guess either – I mean getting together is so special, but there is a lot of “real life” stuff involved too. I don’t hide my insecure side, my emotional side, my angry side – it’s important that Rex knows all of me, and I know all of him – otherwise we are just like dogs on show and who knows if that dog all washed and brushed and looking presentable on show isn’t the annoying yappy dog up the street that chews your shoes! Crude analogy but I hope you get me 🙂
I don’t think there is a hurry – Rex asked me to marry him 2 years ago and we aren’t getting married for another year. We will be living together finally before then, so it’s not been a rushed thing really.
Marriage definitely doesn’t quite mean what it meant in my grandparents day, but Rex and I aren’t religious either, so it doesn’t carry the same meaning as it would for someone in the church. It’s more a celebration. I don’t know how to explain it really, but I definitely understand your point. I guess for me, it’s like hopping on the plane in the first place to fly over and meet Rex the first time, a bit of a gamble that i’m pretty sure will work out but you just never know 😉
I had never believed in long distance relationship and, after being in one, I do think it is possible to have one but also very hard. The relationship needs to be strong and there has to be a lot of trust which is not usually the case. I certainly wouldn’t try it again.
I know, there’s going to be trust issues. At least in my end, which is kind of hard to believe because I’m the guy and I’ll be the one concerned with trust.
Is this coming from personal experience?
This is coming almost a moth after but for some reason I hadn’t seen your comment. Yes, it was coming from personal experience. I was in a long distance relationship for a while but it is just too hard to make it work, certainly something I wouldn’t like to go through again.
How i wished i had the girl’s trust and faith to his man. I just wished I read this 2 years ago. Oh i just wished. Things could have been different.
Reblogged this on PRETTY BIG LIAR.
Trust is a pretty important thing for me, and it has been broken in the past by men I have loved and been living with. I took a chance with Rex, took a chance on love and luckily it paid off! Could have gone the other way of course, but I would never have known if I didn’t risk it. I think I am trusting to a fault, but I like to think that people can be worth the risk of heart ache – and Rex was.
You are a brave person. Risking for me is a very tough thing. I just hope I could change into a person like you. 🙂
Long distance relationship sometimes last long and lucky to heard a story that truly inspires me too. I have a same way experience from it, I knew my man through chat and his quite impressive. And his parents are fine to meet me but mine is not too warm welcoming him because of religion-I’m a christian and his a Muslim. Although his that too far from me,and few of the times we can talk via messenger or by phone. That inspires me to write a lot of my experiences because of him and appreciate it you like it too. From my relationship with him is quite complicated because i don’t know the exact outcome of it. I was hoping I might be happy or sad in the end.
But I know its not the end of everything, I am still 25 I have lot of chance to meet more and actually I do. No matter what happen I’m still keeping my faith and wishing us both happy in the end. I guess I do things crazier with love, and misses him so much after all. But I’m really glad you make out the best in your relationship. Stay in Love! ♥
Of course I would like it, share it to the rest of us! At 25 it seems like you are in your peak beauty. Guys would love to be around you. Okay, you decide if he’s the one. But if you have doubts, I’m afraid you’d be wasting your prime. Just my thoughts.. Where is he, by the way?
Yeah, Rex and Liza are surely heading to longevity of their relationship. They’re getting married!
I’m happy to hear this kind of stories. Good thing I found one on your post. Btw, his in turkey. Yes, I’m having doubts but I’m making myself busy than thinking about it for too long. So, I always say to myself if his mine he always come back or must be a way.
Thanks… yeah, I’m really at my peak! lol… and its giving me a headache, again, faith will lead me to the right person. I’m not losing hope yet. Continue to inspire everyone! Keep writing…
I love it – ” yeah, I’m really at my peak!”. I will keep on writing, that’s for sure!
This is beautiful!!! I’m all for long distance relationships and of course when 2 individuals feel so strongly about one another, anything is possible. This is such a beautiful story. Thank you for sharing ❤
Fleviah, after my previous relationship failed drastically because I moved interstate for work for 3 months, I was dead set against long distance relationships! I was completely convinced I would never be in one again, let alone one with a man on the other side of the world! It definitely has helped create a strength, a bond that I’ve never felt before and shown us that we can get through some really hard times and come out on top 🙂
your an inspiration of true love 🙂 A lot of people don’t share their personal lives, but thank you for sharing your story. It spreads nothing but positive energy and shows that even the impossible is possible when you have 2 willing individuals. Through struggles and hardships wait the greatest joys in life. ❤
I’m married to someone who serves in a military branch. We dated for 4 years long distance (he was in CA and I was in FL) we saw each other maybe 2-3 times a year. You have to love open heartedly and trust in the success of the relationship. It has to be even and open both ways for it to work. A lot of people questioned and wondered how we did it, but we just made it work cause we knew it was worth it. And it was then and still is 😉
I noticed that men in military service are the most loyal. They portray it in movies too, missing their families and all. I guess that’s the biggest challenge – people’s raised eyebrows. And you just won’t give a damn, would you? 😀
Nah, love is love and trust is trust. It’s been a long road with it’s challenges just like any relationship. And I wouldn’t put a general blanket over those who serve being the most loyal…unfortunately many divorce early (cause they are so young and the challenges/stressors of military life can prove difficult) or the long stints apart get the best of them. I just feel blessed to have found my match 🙂
Thats such a sweet story. Thanks for sharing.
Personally, I followed a girl I loved over 1,000 miles. We lived in Illinois and she moved to Austin, TX for grad school. We thought the relationship wouldn’t last, but after months of job searching online and a few Skype interviews later, I packed up everything and moved. The job required a quick turnaround, so there wasn’t much time for coordinating help with the move. I drove 20 hours straight through in a moving truck with my car in tow, and only my cat in a carrier to keep me company. I made it safe and sound, and we love living in Austin together!
Oh they do Skype interviews now? I’m with you man, if a girl left me for grad school or career purposes, I would certainly doubt if it’ll last. How long have you been away from her?
It’s really amazing how two people that are world apart, find each other and fall in love…Such an inspiring story, thanks for sharing this 🙂
and thanks by the way for dropping by my blog 🙂
Oh hey! Thanks for visiting too!
I’ve been in a few long distance relationships. One was while I was in the Army. When I moved from post to post she wasn’t able to come with me unless we were married or it would have been expensive to have to keep moving and getting a new place as an unmarried couple and we ended up just being friends in the end so it all worked out. I always remember that distance makes the heart grow fonder. When you don’t get to see you’re partner that much you really value the time you do get. It takes a lot trust, patience, and commitment to make it work. But if you really care about someone then no obstacle should stand in your way.
Wonderful words man, obstacles wouldn’t stand in the way. I just thought, how can you concentrate with the time you have with her while knowing she’ll be away in a few days? You’d always think ‘time’s not enough, time’s not enough’
Well is any amount of time ever really enough to spend with your loved ones. Its best to be thankful for what you have than sad for what you dont.
That’s it, trust, patience, and commitment. Every time I am with Rex I am doing my best in those first few days to not think about time passing. A part of me hates the day before I leave Australia because I know it means it’s a day closer to me leaving him. But we do our best when together to just focus on enjoying our time, being normal, doing what we want to do and ignoring the fact that one of us will have to leave. We always end up having a teary night one or two days before departure. But as you said, if you really care, nothing can stop you!
Absoultely Beautiful!
I met my other half on line…cosmic explosions…
he got scared and quit…I will wait ….it is all I know after
opening my heart to trust him….
don’t give up….
Take Care…
)0(
maryrose
Do you mean you’re still waiting for him?
when you expreince the twinflame energy…
nothing will ever be the same…
I live in the moment, if it is meant to be
then it will be…
I know it is..
fear can do so much harm…its blinding
I just wait til he sees Us again..he will…he does…
he just doean’t know how to fit Us in those perfect pictures…people draw…
)0(
I believe true love transcends everything – age, gender, religion, distance or anything else. Strange how everything else becomes so trivial when the feelings are true. Long distance relationships are not meant for everyone, it can get very stressful and frustrating but if you are together through it all and if you truly believe it is worth the chance and the risk- It might just be.
Shucks! The romantic in me just could not help but melt over this story. I wish you both all the luck in the world :’)
It is one-out-of a thousand long distance relationships that see the light at the end of the tunnel. Many relationships then take a nose-dive after they stay together.
Im a huge sucker for love….Even though the long distance relationship thing didnt work for me, because the other person wasnt in it like I was, I do still believe that if two ppl love eachother and they want it badly, there is no reason why It shouldnt work out. Now it takes a lotttt of patience..lots of it, but again, If they can do it..then by all means stay together, tuff it out, and they wont be apart for forever. 🙂 Time will always always show how much someone loves you.
I’ve been in a long-distance relationship. After being together 6 months (during my year abroad) my boyfriend moved to America for a year and I went back to England to finish my degree. Right before I left, we agreed to at least try – up until that point I hadn’t believed in long-distance relationships, but I liked him too much to just give up. We saw each other once that year (my dad bought me plane tickets as a Christmas present). We didn’t even have Skype – just MSN. Just over 8 years later we’re still together. After 2 years apart I moved to German and in 2009 we finally got a flat together. I’m not sure how much longer we’ll be together, but I wouldn’t change any of it for the world. The last 8 years have been the best of my life.
I love reading stories about successful long distance relationships.
It makes me think about my first love, who I thought was seriously the love of my life and when we entered long distance, everything just got too complicated. I get great joy out of hearing people’s success, when mine failed. 😀
Passion. If two people have it, distance won’t matter. Life will find a way to bring them together. I’m disappointed that you mentioned Liza’s weight. It had no purpose in an otherwise thoughtful peek at a love story. Just my two cents.
Wooow, it really is easy to be skeptical especially when there isn’t a lot of happy endings to love connections like their story. But to each their own and this video looked sweet enough to build my hopes up for them and any other unique love connections. I have sat and daydreamed of the What If…..What if the man of my dreams, the true love of my life does not live in the state I live in? This world is way too big to settle for someone that lives in the same radius as you…..What if He lives in Africa but I settled for someone here instead? It’s a fascinating thought. I really wish them a long and successfully happy marriage!
I am so happy to nominate momentmatters for the Versatile Blogger Award 🙂 It’s good reading like this one that keeps me on wordpress. ❤ ❤ ❤
Here is the link for the image and for more info for accepting the award.
Met my wife May 69, saw her four times ( I lived 1000 miles away) before we married in Sept 69. Together 23 years until life got complicated. If you have ever felt the intensity of true love, and that love is returned, you won’t understand what you become capable of when you are truly, madly in love. ( We are still good friends , 7 grandkids etc,, no regrets ) I experienced that emotional high of long distance love, the anticipation, the phone calls ( we didn’t have Internet , mobiles or Skype) the letters, yes actually hand written letters, which became extremely valuable, then getting together again, the trust, photographs oh it was just the best thing. Read some stories of WW11 with the soldiers and their wives. Love a powerful emotion….not sure there is enough of the real thing around today ….possibly too many ‘likes’….but I hope you feel it at sometime.