Today marks a year since Adam & I met each other. Say whaaaa…

This last year has truly been a whirlwind, and everyone I tell about our story says I should write a book. It’s true, that the way this whole thing unfolded from one photo on the ‘fling’ app (not a dating site, like snapchat, but to 50 random people round the world) is like something from a Nicholas Sparks movie. I can’t believe all this time has passed already.

This time a year and 2 days ago, I tried to stop talking to Adam, and then sent him a vocal recording of me singing “Come back, be here” by Taylor Swift because I heard the song on shuffle and it made me think of him. I cried as I sang into my iPhone sitting on my bathroom floor. Upon receiving this, he broke down and made the decision to fly halfway across the world on a last minute flight to meet me. Of course when I sang “be here” I didn’t think he would actually do just that. I should have known.. It was Adam after all.

We had never met in person, only spoken on the phone and text. I remember standing in the alley behind my workplace and hearing him say “I’m coming to you.” And I lent against the wall, looking up at the sky as my mind raced with a million questions. “No. No you’re not. What the hell Adam? You’re insane.” He said “I have to know that I at least tried to meet you. I love you.”

My family and friends didn’t know he existed. I was in a messed up, on off, situation with my ex-boyfriend. I was confused. I didn’t know what my next step was. I was only 20. And here I was, unable to even process the fact that this person I had confided everything in and wondered about for so long was going to appear in front of me in less than 24 hours.

I didn’t know it, but the decisions I would make the next day would change my life forever.

I got a phone call on the morning Adam landed in London. He had been awake for 20+ hours, got straight off the flight and into a rental car. He was driving on the opposite side of the road than he was used to, on the other side of the car, heading towards West Sussex.

“Woooo, this is a trip!!” He laughed down the phone. I leaned over the counter in my kitchen with my head in my hands and said “What on earth are you doing!? Are you okay? Are you safe? Are you really here!? Please drive safely.”

I remember getting myself ready not knowing whether or not I would actually follow through on meeting him. After all, I’d never met him before, and how did I know what to expect?

Fast forward a few hours and Adam tells me he has arrived at his hotel. Strangely enough, he had booked the closest hotel to my house without even knowing where I lived – it was around the time of the goodwood revival and the 20 plus hotels he tried before that one were fully booked.

I text him back. “I can’t do this”

He replied “Yes you can. I’ll be waiting here.”

I remember having a slight panic attack. My confidence has never been great, and meeting someone I’d met online was something I had never done before. Our generation has been warned continuously since we started computer class in primary school about the dangers of the Internet. I knew I was running a risk, even though I really truly felt like I knew Adam. I worried that even if he was the incredible guy I thought he was, that he may not like me. All my insecurities came flooding back to me as I got dressed and put my makeup on.

I decided to trust my gut. That’s usually the best thing to do when you have no idea what to do in a situation. I dug deep and thought of all the things we’d shared, and the way he had cared about me from thousands of miles away. I thought about how we laughed together and about his lovely face. I knew how he made me feel, and it was like nothing else.

I weighed up the pros and cons. There seemed to be very few cons and any that there were I could easily deal with. I decided I couldn’t miss the opportunity to meet the guy who flew from Canada to England just to meet me. So, I called a taxi, threw on my best dress, some heeled boots and a hat, re-applied my lipstick and off I went.

It’s the best decision I ever made.

The second we met I knew it was all real. He threw his arms around me and I felt feelings I didn’t know were possible. We knew all along that we were made for each other and meeting only secured it even more. We became inseparable, and him leaving was the hardest thing ever.

I guess after that, they say ‘the rest is history’. We became dedicated to being together and did everything we could to make it a reality. We fought together through the highs and lows and finally made our dreams a reality in February when I moved to Canada.

Writing this out now, it still doesn’t feel real. We became the centre of our own modern fairytale. An incredible adventure. After all the things I’d been through, it was almost hard to believe that something so amazing could happen in my life. I feel as though my Mum had and still has a part in all this.

Adam, you are the most incredible human being, and I feel so lucky to have found you by chance on the Internet. Thankyou for sticking by me. Thankyou for supporting me through every little thing in my life even though we’d never met. Thankyou for caring, always. Thankyou for loving me as I am, in ways I never imagined. Thankyou for holding my hand through this crazy journey and being convinced that this could be a reality.

Look at us now.

I love you so dearly and there is nothing I wouldn’t do for you. Waking up to you every day is the most incredible thing. I’m so proud of you, you’re everything anyone could want in a partner.

I can’t wait for the next chapter of our story, and every single one after that.

“Anything you can dream, we can do.”

It’s true that a lot can happen in a year.

“Taxi cabs and busy streets that never bring you back to me, I can’t help but wish you took me with you. And this is when the feeling sinks in, I don’t want to miss you like this. Come back, be here, come back, be here. You’re in Vancouver today, and I don’t want to need you this way. Just come back, be here, come back and be here.” – Taylor Swift

Estelle x