Just how far would you go to find love?

For Louisville man Paul Staehle, the answer was really, really far. He has traveled thousands of miles and mega-light years out of his comfort zone to be with the woman he thinks he loves – a Brazilian named Karine.

Staehle, 34, wasn't having much luck with love here at home. "I've had bad luck in relationships, and I have been single for a long time," he said. "I met Karine on an international dating website about a year ago and we hit it off."

It wasn't easy considering Staehle doesn't speak Portuguese and Karine speaks very little English. The two communicate through translated text messages.

"Sometimes the translations are way off and it causes some problems," Staehle admited.

Language isn't the only obstacle. Theirs is one monster of a long distance relationship. They're separated by more than 3,000 miles and Staehle is, well let's just say, a little squeamish about insects, third world diseases and the whole idea of travel, for that matter.

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Even so, Staehle was so desperate to meet the 21-year-old he'd met on the internet that he contacted TLC and applied to be profiled on the new reality television series, "90 Day Fiancé: Before the 90 Days."

It's a companion show to TLC's "90 Day Fiancé." The original show follows couples during the 90 day period allowed by a K-1 visa. The visa makes it possible for women and men who have met before, to travel to the U.S. to live with their overseas partners for the first time. The couples must marry before their visas expire in 90 days, or the visiting partner will have to return home.

"I got the idea to apply because I was a fan of the original show," said Staehle. "I watched it to see how other couples with language and cultural barriers made it work."

This new show, where Staehle will appear starting Aug. 6, follows three couples who have only corresponded on an international dating site but never in person. The Americans travel to their love interest's home country.

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For Staehle, this meant an arduous journey to Karine's village of Tonantins, Brazil.

l spoke with him several weeks before he left on his trip. At the time, he seemed more concerned about what he would encounter traveling through a foreign country than what would happen once he met Karine face-to-face for the first time.

"Well I was really worried about malaria and catching a parasite or being bitten by piranha and of course, the language barrier was going to be an issue," said Staehle.

Staehle made sure to receive a battery of immunizations to protect against diseases he might encounter traveling for three days down the Amazon River. He also stuffed a trunk with all sorts of precautionary paraphernalia including a full body suit made of mosquito netting, highly potent bug spray, water purifiers, a "cooling" vest and a heat stroke hood to wrap around his head just in case the Brazilian sun was more than he could stand.

"Better to look like an idiot and be protected," preached Staehle as he tried on his protective gear for the TLC crew covering his journey.

We won't know how Karine and her family take to this Louisville man clad in mosquito netting and hand sanitizer until the second episode of the series.

Tune into TLC at 9 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 6 as Staehle prepares to meet Karine and her family and makes a journey down the Amazon River in hopes of finding his true love.

Reach reporter Kirby Adams at kadams@courier-journal.com.

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