Love is a fragile equation of passion and security, but it does not always work out. I have traveled halfway around the globe for love, been heartbroken, and rebuilt my life more times than I care to remember.
I fled Austria at 21 for a year in Madrid, prepared to dive headfirst into another culture. I didn’t make it far: I violently fell in love with a stunning Spaniard.
Our relationship was a powder keg—full of passion, late-night arguments, and declarations of love. But when the semester ended, so did we. I still remember crying on the return flight home, comforted by two stewardesses as I wept into my orange juice.
I was 24 when I spent a summer in Barcelona and met a Dutch guy. We were inseparable, having a long-distance relationship before we moved in together in Amsterdam.
We were together for seven years, both as a couple and as people. But as we turned 30, we knew our love had faded—we were more like roommates than lovers. It was difficult to break up, but we knew it was time.
Overcoming that heartbreak was not easy, but soon I required a fresh start. I was 33 at the time and a freelance writer, with the option to be anywhere in the world. I chose Nicaragua, to escape the grey Amsterdam winters.
Fate had other plans. One night, I met a man who changed my life. We had instant chemistry, and I knew I wasn’t catching my bus to Panama the next day.
Instead, we spent six blissful weeks together, gazing at sunsets and living in our own love bubble. When he left for Australia, I followed him. From there, we traveled to Europe, showing each other our families and making Portugal our home.
In 2018, we got married in the same hostel where we met. We bought a seaside house on the Algarve coast two years later, which we now live in with our two rescue cats.
Not every love story has a happy ending, but I’m thankful that I never let myself be deterred by heartbreak from playing the game again.
And if you’re breaking up? Do it someplace bright, preferably in a hammock with a cocktail in your hand. You never know who’s going to pass by.
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