October LDR Couple Spotlight

I have to apologize to everyone, and especially to Christina923 and Wilko. She had done such an excellent job of filling out the interview questions and sent them to me before she went to The Netherlands to bring him home, and somehow, I have lost the email. :(

She is trying to arrange their wedding and I'm not sure that she'll have time to recreate it. So, I'll see what I can do about arranging another interview and hopefully, we can post theirs in the near future.

Again, I apologize for the delay and for the mixup on my part.

I am so sorry for being so late with this month’s LDR couple spotlight. I owe a huge apology to Christina923 as I have lost the interview she completed for me to use this month. I will continue to beg her forgiveness and will hopefully be able to sweet talk her into doing it over again for me for the future.

In the meantime, our dear bella belle has very sweetly agreed to step in and complete her interview a little ahead of schedule. Here’s what she had to say:

Whiterose: How long have you been involved in a long-distance relationship?

bella belle: Hmm, depends who you ask. We knew there was something more than friendship between us on October 26, 2003. So you can say a year (as of Oct. 26, 2004). But we didn't meet in person until May 26, 2004. So that would be five months. I simply just say a yr. :)

Whiterose: How did you first meet?

bella belle: I was a long time member of a fitness board for over a yr. when one day in July 2003 he joined the board. On his first day as a member he had over 200 posts. At first I thought what a real loser! I mean who time to make 200+ posts in a matter of a few hrs. I noticed from his profile that he lived in Canada. At the time I was moving to Canada to attend graduate school. I contacted him via PM, a few wks. after he joined,to ask him about gyms in Ottawa. Turned out he lived about 8 hrs. from Ottawa but he still managed to help me with my search for a gym. We ended up communicating daily via PMs. One day he gave me his work number but I never called until early Oct. Eventually we exchanged home numbers and talked for hours daily. Due to our conflicting schedules we were unable to meet face to face until May 26, 2004.

Whiterose: What type of age gap relationship are you involved in? Ex. Are you the older woman or the older man? And, what is your age difference?

bella belle: I am the younger woman in my relationship. He is 18 years older than me.

Whiterose: Do you live within the same country? If not, which countries do you two live in?

bella belle: No. He lives in Canada. I live in the US.

Whiterose: If you met online, how long did you two talk before deciding to meet in person?

bella bella: After talking for a little over three weeks we both knew we wanted to meet. It was just a matter of when we would be able to. At the time I was traveling to finish my modeling contract in Europe. He was traveling across Canada frequently on business.

Whiterose: How do you keep in touch with each other when you can‘t be together? And, how often?

bella belle: We keep in touch via email exchange several times a week and daily via telephone. We phone one another at least once a day. Sometimes more. Every night after he comes home from work, he works second shift, we talk at least one hour before we both head off to bed.

Whiterose: How often do you get to see each other in person? How long does your visit typically last?

bella belle: Since meeting in May we have spent 9 weeks together. We will be spending four more weeks together at the mid Oct. - early Nov. Due to our work schedules it is easier for me to travel to Canada to visit him than it is for him to travel to Florida. My first visit I spent 3 weeks with him. I returned 20 days later and spent another 3 weeks with him. He was able to come to Florida and spend 3 weeks with me here. The longest we have been apart has been 12+ weeks, from July to Oct.

Whiterose: What kinds of things do you and your partner do to help cope with the distance when you cannot be together?

bella belle: After departing this last time we were able to be together I had a really tough time coping with the distance. We have found that taking silly pictures for one another with our digital cameras has really helped both of us. We send each other packages, often, which include small gifts we have picked up for one another, magazines, books, music we record for one another, or whatever else we think the other will like. We keep each other informed on our daily happenings as well.

Whiterose: Have you made any future plans to be together permanently? If so, who will be the one who will move?

bella belle: Yes we have plans to be together permanently soon! Neither of us are moving into each other's countries. At this time, since we are not ready for marriage, it works best for me to move closer to him while still staying in the US. He lives in a bordering city. It's only 15 mins. from the US. I will be relocating to MI to be closer.

Whiterose: How does this relationship compare to others you have with someone who lives closer to you? For example, please describe the similarities and the differences.

bella belle: Being LD allows you to really get to know someone a lot better than you may get the chance to with someone who lives closer. You spend most of your time "together" on the telephone talking which allows both parties involved the opportunity to get to know one another a lot better a lot sooner. This is only the second relationship I have ever had. My first relationship was sort of LD. We lived a few hours apart and mostly saw one another on weekends. So there have been some similarities in both in that sense.

Whiterose: If you had it all to do over again, would you still choose to be in a LDR?

bella bella: I don't think anyone would choose to be in a LDR. If I had to do it all over again I would be in a LDR to be able to enjoy life with a person as wonderful as my OM.

Thank you again, bella belle, for sharing your story with me. Especially on such short notice. :p I hope you enjoy your upcoming visit with your boyfriend!