maxWidth: 300
colorFreezeLevel: 2
initialExpandLevel: 2
---
# How We Met
- Platonic love
- Brandon & Christine
- 
- Met as colleagues in Gatwick airport's PCR lab
- Kept each other accompanied through the sometimes 14-hour days
- Get excited together for the bean and cheese toastie at the Costa next door
- Now they live in different countries
- Christine moved to Spain
- Committed to keep connected
- Voice notes
- Occasional visits
- Supporting each other through hard times
- Brandon's breakup with his boy friend
- *“We can talk about something upsetting, but we’re always going to laugh together too, because that’s what our friendship was built on: finding the light in everything.”*
- “I feel really lucky our paths crossed.”
- “It’s rare to meet someone where it’s like two pieces of a puzzle clicking together,”
- Breaking cultural boundaries
- Wayne and Aura
- 
- Co-volunteers at a local housing association
- Met in a hospital waiting room while both swollen up from an allergy test
- *I said, ‘You look terrible!’ which I now realise wasn’t the smartest thing to say.” Luckily, Aura wasn’t offended. “I’m really laid-back and not easily insulted,” she says, laughing.*
- Breaking the language barrier
- *Aura, who is originally from Honduras, thought Wayne seemed “smart and handsome”.*
- Aura enjoyed Wayne’s jokes and sense of humour, though admits she “didn’t understand everything he said”.
- Wayne was interested in Aura's different cultural background and patience
- “I came from a very white background in the suburbs and didn’t meet anyone from different backgrounds until my teenage years. I was interested in getting to know her, so I asked her out for dinner.”
- "I am not always the easiest person to get along with, so anyone who can tolerate me for 40 years has got something special. I feel lucky that we’ve stayed together all this time and feel that we’ve grown through being with each other.”"
- penpals across the Atlantic
- Tola & Alicia
- Alicia feeled lonely
- Grew up in a family of missionary parents
- never went to school
- searched the internet for friends
- messaged many people, including Tola
- struck up a conversation over Tola's holiday in America, difference in British and American sweets and else
- Lost touch when Tola went to university
- reconnected on FB 10 years later
- connecting in a time of crisis
- Sean and Hannah
- 
- Co-patients at a psychiatric hospital
- At first both focused on recovery
- Dating was not at all part of plan
- Connected through-out their 10 months stay at the hostpital and the out-patient recovery groups that followed
- gradually developped feelings for each other
- "Hannah and I had become such close friends and been through so much together. "
- We both know what it’s like to go to a dark place and we support each other when we are struggling.”
- decided to try things out with the care team's encouragement
- lived in different places but spent multiple nights together every week
- married and moved in together in 2021
- after COVID lock-down
- having known each other since 2012
- dating while deaf
- Virginia and Matthew
- Virginia
- Lost her hearing from meningitis
- Left university due to lack of provision for deaf people
- Discovered sailing grace of the Ocean Youth Trust
- Fell in love with it and started working as a sailor on board of Lord Nelson
- Met Matthew, who was the volunteer relief chef on one mission
- Matthew
- Real-estate entrepreneur
- so passionate about sailing that he volunteers on Lord Nelson during his holidays
- The connection
- started chatting one evening at a "dodgy" local pub while all the crew went there to wait out a storm
- Matthew was instantly captivated by Virginia's positivity
- La connaisance
- Through out their mission
- La romance
- Virginia got a friend to phone Matthew
- As she relies on lip reading and cannot communicate over telephone
- Proposed to visit Matthew
- Matthew took Virginia to a country pub
- They had a good night's laugh
- Matthew thought it was fantastic that Virginia laughed at all his jokes
- he discovered years later only that she hadn't understood him
- Virginia : “I just laughed anyway,” she says. “I knew I really liked him.”
- Staying in touch
- 1990s : A fax machine to text long-distance
- Matthew started learning sign language to communicate better with Virginia
- the proposal
- one year after meeting each other
- Matthew asked to see Virginia's dad
- Virginia : "If it is what I think it is, you better ask me first"
- Matthew asked Virginia in sign language : "Would you marry me"
- Formally proposed on the deck of Lord Nelson weeks later
- [the proposal](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/cb9bc11a63e0f044c42d4c42690076af558a1e6b/156_0_2697_3643/master/2697.jpg?width=740&dpr=2&s=none&crop=none)
- la vie en couple
- Virginia and Matthew love supporting each other
- Matthew always makes phone call for Virginia
- Virginia supported Matthew in his business venture
- sharing parental responsibilities for four children
- 
- first friends, then romantic partner
- Wayne and Louris
- Met while co-casting a theater play
- both dating other people at the time
- got along well and became casual friends
- crossed path years later both single
- in a local bar
- Wayne invited Louris for a drink at his place
- Shared an intimate night together
- Louris did not expect to hear from Wayne again at all
- pleasantly surprised when Wayne invited her to a theater play days later
- they began dating
- Shortly after Wayne was headhunted for a high-level position in St. Lucia and Louris was offered a fellowship in Washington DC
- They parted ways on good term
- Stayed in touch
- Louris invited Wayne over Christmas to DC
- Louris expressed her intention to leave DC for the bitter cold winter
- Wayne invited him to move in with him in St. Lucia
- Much to the worry of Louris's mom
- "You are moving to St. Lucia to live with some man ?!"
- A temporary move became a 2-year stay
- Marriage : 6 years after knowing each other
- [Wayne and Louris](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/d3176c091f60ad3342a96f29e10d9727d9377971/0_1_4032_2419/master/4032.jpg?width=1140&dpr=2&s=none&crop=none)
- life together
- 2 children aged 7 years apart
- Wayne : "Louris is gorgeous and supportive"
- Louris : "I love Wayne’s sense of humour and how he has always supported me in everything,"
- l'attraction, et aussi l'amitié
- “The best thing about our marriage is that we’re best friends. That’s really important – you’ve got to have that friendship as well as attraction.”
- Chris et Joke
- rencontré cars Chris sortait avec la soeur de Joke Plonie
- et Plonie a terminé par marier le meilleur ami de Chris
- a discuté toute nuit la première rencontre
- géré une relation à distance pendant des années
=======
How We Met : l'histoire d'amour
maxWidth: 300
colorFreezeLevel: 2
initialExpandLevel: 2
---
# How We Met
- Platonic love
- Brandon & Christine
- 
- Met as colleagues in Gatwick airport's PCR lab
- Kept each other accompanied through the sometimes 14-hour days
- Get excited together for the bean and cheese toastie at the Costa next door
- Now they live in different countries
- Christine moved to Spain
- Committed to keep connected
- Voice notes
- Occasional visits
- Supporting each other through hard times
- Brandon's breakup with his boy friend
- *“We can talk about something upsetting, but we’re always going to laugh together too, because that’s what our friendship was built on: finding the light in everything.”*
- “I feel really lucky our paths crossed.”
- “It’s rare to meet someone where it’s like two pieces of a puzzle clicking together,”
- Breaking cultural boundaries
- Wayne and Aura
- 
- Co-volunteers at a local housing association
- Met in a hospital waiting room while both swollen up from an allergy test
- *I said, ‘You look terrible!’ which I now realise wasn’t the smartest thing to say.” Luckily, Aura wasn’t offended. “I’m really laid-back and not easily insulted,” she says, laughing.*
- Breaking the language barrier
- *Aura, who is originally from Honduras, thought Wayne seemed “smart and handsome”.*
- Aura enjoyed Wayne’s jokes and sense of humour, though admits she “didn’t understand everything he said”.
- Wayne was interested in Aura's different cultural background and patience
- “I came from a very white background in the suburbs and didn’t meet anyone from different backgrounds until my teenage years. I was interested in getting to know her, so I asked her out for dinner.”
- "I am not always the easiest person to get along with, so anyone who can tolerate me for 40 years has got something special. I feel lucky that we’ve stayed together all this time and feel that we’ve grown through being with each other.”"
- penpals across the Atlantic
- Tola & Alicia
- Alicia feeled lonely
- Grew up in a family of missionary parents
- never went to school
- searched the internet for friends
- messaged many people, including Tola
- struck up a conversation over Tola's holiday in America, difference in British and American sweets and else
- Lost touch when Tola went to university
- reconnected on FB 10 years later
- connecting in a time of crisis
- Sean and Hannah
- 
- Co-patients at a psychiatric hospital
- At first both focused on recovery
- Dating was not at all part of plan
- Connected through-out their 10 months stay at the hostpital and the out-patient recovery groups that followed
- gradually developped feelings for each other
- "Hannah and I had become such close friends and been through so much together. "
- We both know what it’s like to go to a dark place and we support each other when we are struggling.”
- decided to try things out with the care team's encouragement
- lived in different places but spent multiple nights together every week
- married and moved in together in 2021
- after COVID lock-down
- having known each other since 2012
- dating while deaf
- Virginia and Matthew
- Virginia
- Lost her hearing from meningitis
- Left university due to lack of provision for deaf people
- Discovered sailing grace of the Ocean Youth Trust
- Fell in love with it and started working as a sailor on board of Lord Nelson
- Met Matthew, who was the volunteer relief chef on one mission
- Matthew
- Real-estate entrepreneur
- so passionate about sailing that he volunteers on Lord Nelson during his holidays
- The connection
- started chatting one evening at a "dodgy" local pub while all the crew went there to wait out a storm
- Matthew was instantly captivated by Virginia's positivity
- La connaisance
- Through out their mission
- La romance
- Virginia got a friend to phone Matthew
- As she relies on lip reading and cannot communicate over telephone
- Proposed to visit Matthew
- Matthew took Virginia to a country pub
- They had a good night's laugh
- Matthew thought it was fantastic that Virginia laughed at all his jokes
- he discovered years later only that she hadn't understood him
- Virginia : “I just laughed anyway,” she says. “I knew I really liked him.”
- Staying in touch
- 1990s : A fax machine to text long-distance
- Matthew started learning sign language to communicate better with Virginia
- the proposal
- one year after meeting each other
- Matthew asked to see Virginia's dad
- Virginia : "If it is what I think it is, you better ask me first"
- Matthew asked Virginia in sign language : "Would you marry me"
- Formally proposed on the deck of Lord Nelson weeks later
- [the proposal](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/cb9bc11a63e0f044c42d4c42690076af558a1e6b/156_0_2697_3643/master/2697.jpg?width=740&dpr=2&s=none&crop=none)
- la vie en couple
- Virginia and Matthew love supporting each other
- Matthew always makes phone call for Virginia
- Virginia supported Matthew in his business venture
- sharing parental responsibilities for four children
- 
- first friends, then romantic partner
- Wayne and Louris
- Met while co-casting a theater play
- both dating other people at the time
- got along well and became casual friends
- crossed path years later both single
- in a local bar
- Wayne invited Louris for a drink at his place
- Shared an intimate night together
- Louris did not expect to hear from Wayne again at all
- pleasantly surprised when Wayne invited her to a theater play days later
- they began dating
- Shortly after Wayne was headhunted for a high-level position in St. Lucia and Louris was offered a fellowship in Washington DC
- They parted ways on good term
- Stayed in touch
- Louris invited Wayne over Christmas to DC
- Louris expressed her intention to leave DC for the bitter cold winter
- Wayne invited him to move in with him in St. Lucia
- Much to the worry of Louris's mom
- "You are moving to St. Lucia to live with some man ?!"
- A temporary move became a 2-year stay
- Marriage : 6 years after knowing each other
- [Wayne and Louris](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/d3176c091f60ad3342a96f29e10d9727d9377971/0_1_4032_2419/master/4032.jpg?width=1140&dpr=2&s=none&crop=none)
- life together
- 2 children aged 7 years apart
- Wayne : "Louris is gorgeous and supportive"
- Louris : "I love Wayne’s sense of humour and how he has always supported me in everything,"
- l'attraction, et aussi l'amitié
- “The best thing about our marriage is that we’re best friends. That’s really important – you’ve got to have that friendship as well as attraction.”
- Chris et Joke
- rencontré cars Chris sortait avec la soeur de Joke Plonie
- et Plonie a terminé par marier le meilleur ami de Chris
- a discuté toute nuit la première rencontre
- géré une relation à distance pendant des années
>>>>>>> 9613065a10ff8cfad825ec981e31e8bbb27f5384