How we met: ‘We got chatting in an online word game - and fell in love’

Sarah never imagined that her online word-game addiction would become more than a hobby. But at the end of 2019 it led to an unexpected, long-distance love story. "I was living in Germany but spending a lot of time with my daughter in Switzerland," says Sarah, who left the UK with her husband when she was 20. "She had had a third baby and needed some extra help. I'd also been widowed in 2018 and was still feeling a bit disoriented."

The Scrabble-style game Words with Friends soon became a nice distraction. "You can play with anyone in the world," she says. "I would often be sitting in my grandchildren's rooms waiting for them to sleep while I played."

When she connected with Martin through the game, they began to chat on the messaging function. "He congratulated me on a word I'd played. I'm not even sure how we got talking as I am usually a scaredy cat on the internet."

They felt drawn to each other as soon as they began to communicate. Martin was working in Adelaide, Australia, as a carer and living part-time with his teenage daughters from a previous marriage. "I just used the game to pass time after work," he says. "But I noticed Sarah's sense of humour was wonderful. We chatted on Words with Friends for about three months, before we moved to Facebook Messenger and started talking face-to-face through video."

They discovered they both loved dogs, books and the same music. "We also started watching films together online and we set up a book club where we'd read the same things, put messages in the books and send them to each other," says Sarah.

They planned to meet in March 2020, but the pandemic robbed them of the chance to travel. Yet despite the difficulties the world was facing, their online relationship continued to grow. "It kept me going, as I was on my own in Germany," says Sarah. "Having him to share things with was lovely. At the same time, it was frustrating because there comes a point where you just want to hold that person's hand and be with them." It would have been easy to give up on the relationship, but their commitment never waivered.

Eventually, in September 2022, they were able to meet in Singapore. "It wasn't like meeting someone for the first time because we'd known each other for over two years," says Martin. "There was an instant coming together. It was so comfortable and exciting at the same time. We knew each other so well and had already fallen in love online." They spent eight days touring the sights of Singapore. "In a normal relationship, you can have times of silence but you can't do that when you're online," says Sarah. "When we met in person, I realised how lovely it was to be together and not even talk."

Martin says that leaving each other at the end of the trip was "incredibly hard" for them both. "As soon as we got home, we started planning the next time we could see each other. It's been challenging because we both have commitments in our own countries." They hope to meet again early this year and want to find a way to be together permanently. "We have some things to work out but I really want to grow old with Martin," says Sarah. "When you've made that decision, the rest should fall into place."

Sarah is one of the few people Martin feels truly understands him. "She's my best friend and I love every conversation we have. When I finish work, calling her is the first thing I do every day."

Sarah loves how funny he is. "Anyone who can make me laugh gets points with me. Despite the distance, Martin takes our relationship seriously and he's clever, kind and curious. We love hearing about each other's lives and can't wait to be together all the time."

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