Couple who matched on Bumble by chance as one passed through an airport get married, despite living 3,500 miles apart (Picture: PA Real Life/Collect)

What do you do to kill time at the airport? Listen to music, read a book, swipe through a dating app?

Canadian Leah Woolridge-McPherson decided to go for the latter on Bumble, a dating app that matches you to partners within a set radius.

She happened to be matched with Mark Lusted, a Londoner passing through the airport at the same time.

Leah, from Toronto, Canada, was flying home from London in 2016 when they connected, at the time she wasn’t looking for a relationship, much less with someone who lived 3,500 miles away from her.


The 29-year-old, who works as a global operations manager, swiped right on Mark who was travelling to France at the time.



Mark, a 30-year-old from Bedfordshire, who works as a surveyor, said the geographical distance was a help, not a hindrance in their relationship.

They spent hours each day talking and getting to know one another. During their second date, the couple said, ‘I love you’, while on their fourth, decided to move in.

Clearly committed to one another, the pair then decided to get married.

Mark’s first trip to Canada for Leah’s mum’s wedding, a few months after matching (Picture: PA Real Life/Collect)

‘The distance was actually a really good thing. Of course, there were times we missed each other but it allowed us to build our relationship slowly, and become best friends,’ said Leah.

‘Mark was so thoughtful and genuinely interested, that he made it easy to be open and honest.

‘At every stage, I would ask myself “what’s the worst that could happen, that I get ghosted by someone on the other side of the world?”

‘We love reflecting on our story and it goes to show that you aren’t always going to find love with the people right next to you. It’s about opening up your mind and trusting what the world has in store.’

Leah and Mark Skyping when they lived apart (PA Real Life/Collect)

The couple quickly became accustomed to staying up late on Skype or chatting first thing in the morning with one another.

Leah recalled downloading Bumble on a whim and, within a few hours, she was matched with Mark.

He said: ‘I’d only been on the app a couple of months myself, having been single a year or so. We soon worked out that, by the time I got home from France, she’d have left England and gone back to Canada, so at first, I never dreamed we’d actually end up meeting.’

But, instead of the long-distance extinguishing their spark, the couple found it actually helped them get to know one another properly, without pressure.

After a month of chatting every day, they decided to organise their first official date – in Iceland, three months after matching, though they had met in London for a work trip Leah was on.

‘I remember being so nervous before actually meeting Mark in the flesh. I kept thinking, “we better like each other – we have a trip to Iceland booked in a few weeks.”



‘But we had such an amazing time.’

Leah and Mark in Iceland on their first official date in August 2016 (PA Real Life/Collect)

While discussing their future, Mark and Leah decided to tell each other how they felt. Their next date came in December of the same year, in Canada where Mark came to visit for Leah’s mum’s wedding.

Their third date was a trip to Paris in March 2017, where they decided to move in together.

Two more trips followed – one to Mexico, where their families met for the first time, with Leah moving to England permanently two weeks later – and one to Brussels for a romantic weekend to celebrate one year as a couple.

The couple in Budapest in December 2017, just after they got engaged (PA Real Life/Collect)

‘We had spoken a lot about where it would be easiest for us to live. Mark had applied for a Canadian visa and I had applied for a UK one,’ said Leah.

‘We had a big spreadsheet weighing up all the pros and cons, and even considered going out to China to earn a living teaching English.

‘But in the end, my UK visa got granted, and where I worked at the time had a UK office I could transfer to, so it made sense for me to be the one to move.’

On their wedding day (PA Real Life/Scott Ramsay)

A year later, Mark proposed with a vintage ring Leah had her sights set on.

After announcing the news to their delighted families, Leah and Mark tied the knot in Canada.

Now, looking back at their incredible story, they say they are living proof that you never know when you are going to meet your soulmate, and have thanked Bumble for making them believe in love at first swipe.


MORE: Couple get married after meeting through a text message sent to the wrong number

MORE: Couple who wed on first date reveal what life is like as man and wife

MORE: Bumble is looking for someone to go on dates for a year (and get paid for it)

Advertisement Advertisement