OUR STORY! THE VERY BEGINNING!

So, how did we meet? Well, there is some story to this actually! 

It all began in 2019, I had just been divorced a little while ago and was still in my divorce period! The papers wasn't even finalized yet, when we met! And fate apparently couldn't get us to meet soon enough it seemed! I was not really looking for anyone and was not really ready to go into any relationship either. And i learned also later, that the same was the case with Suerte at this time! 

But we both had one thing in common! We both had friends and coworkers that "pushed" us "out there" and urged us to try out Tinder! We both had refused in the beginning, but we both apparently also caved in to the pressure of those around us, only wishing us the best, of course! So we did put up our profiles and started swiping away! One day i found her profile, and she immediately caught my attention with her beautiful smile and posing in the autumn environmental pictures like a pro model for an autumn clothes collection! I read her profile text and it made me decide to send her a message! So i did, but i did not get any reply in 1 or 2 days. Then i revisited her profile, and realized that her profile text was in English, and i had sent her a message in Norwegian! Then i decided to send her the same message again, but this time in English and apologizing for not thinking of this in my initial message! And THIS made her reply to me! She said nobody had done what i did and that made her choose to reply to me! 

And from there, the sparks flew and and we eventually decided to meet sometime in June and then we started dating! She was in Norway as an Au Pair from the Philippines and we did find time here and there to meet and get to know each other more and more, during her free time! And eventually, on the 26th of October 2019, we made it official as a steady going couple! And we have been together ever since!

THE STRUGGLES!

It has really NOT been the dance of roses we imagined and fantasized about! Of course, the first thing we struggled with, was what to do when her time as an Au Pair here in Norway was ending 1st of February of 2020 and she then needed to leave the country! We decided that what we had, was special enough to continue together, despite the distance and we both had previously had bad experiences with long distance relationships in our pasts! 

We agreed that we would visit each other as often as we could and of course keep in touch every day in messages, phone calls and video calls! But very shortly after she moved out, after the hardest good bye i have ever experienced, there was an pandemic hitting the world! This led to the fact that the world closed down and nobody could go anywhere for a long time! It took then no less than 1 year and 10 months, before I could go and visit her for the first time! 

And of course, this was something that sparked, more than once, the discussion of "is it worth it?" during this time! And we agreed that it IS worth it and this is not any of ours fault, and it would be foolish to waste what good we have and all we've already been through of hardships go to waste as well for something none of us could predict nor prevent! But ever since the world then eventually finally opened up again, we have been visiting each other as often as we can, during holidays and vacations! 

And also of course during all this time, we've had our arguments and discussions, as all couples do from time to time! But we've always figured it out and fixed it and forgiven each other and continued, together! But this has, in hindsight, only strengthened our bond and relationship! None of us is without faults, and we are constantly learning to accept and live with them! That is what love and relationships is all about! Staying together and work through the good AND the bad, TOGETHER!

JUST A FEW PICTURES FROM EASTER AND OUR SUMMER VACATION TOGETHER IN MALAGA IN 2022! SO MANY PICTURES, SO I HAD TO DO 2 PICTURE GROUPS HERE!

THE PROPOSAL!

Then, during the easter holiday in 2024, she came to visit me here in Norway for vacation! This is when i finally "popped the question" during Friday morning, at bedside and she said YES! I was SO happy she said yes! I was fairly confident she WOULD say yes, since we'd been talking about this for some time by then! But my heart was still racing and the fear of getting a NO was definitely real regardless! I found myself REALLY wanting to marry this amazing woman beside me! 

It was maybe not the most romantic way of proposing, i have never been really good with things like this! But the meaning, sincierity and feelings behind it was, and still is, VERY real indeed! My heart is in the right place!