DIDN'T GO THE DISTANCE
I fell in love with a stranger I met online in lockdown – he moved 10k miles to be with me but dumped me 3 WEEKS later
A WOMAN whose boyfriend moved 10,000 miles to live with her after they fell in love online during lockdown admits they broke up just three weeks later - when coronavirus turned them from 'soul mates to cell mates'.
Rosanna Wilson had been chatting to Andrew Monck since July and within weeks, the loved-up pair made things official, enjoying romantic video calls twice a day and even getting matching tattoos.
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The 32-year-old charted her new long-distance relationship on her video blog to her 30,000 TikTok followers as they enjoyed video dinner dates and binge-watched Netflix across time-zones.
After four short months, the couple organised for Andrew, 33, to move to the UK from his home in Sydney, Australia, to move in with the vlogger in Torquay, Devon.
But shortly after Andrew touched down at Heathrow on November 17, things quickly began to crumble and instead of candlelit dinners out, the pair were stuck inside due to coronavirus restrictions.
The week before Christmas, their excitement turned to heartbreak as Andrew announced he was moving back to sunny Australia - leaving Rosanna devastated.
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The vlogger recorded videos of herself in tears over the break-up and sat mournfully on her own in the 'man cave' she set-up for Andrew, with a Sydney harbour mural on the wall.
However Rosanna is determined to make something 'positive' out of it and is using her experience to urge other long-distance lovers to think things through before making such a big move.
Rosanna, from Torquay, Devon, said: "We were soul mates that ended up like cell mates. We were locked in this house together.
"There was the option of doing it long distance again but the straw had broken the camel's back.
"[The break-up] was Andrew's decision.
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"I was very upset for a good couple of weeks, then I thought right, let's get on to my YouTube channel and make something positive of it.
"Andrew left on 16 December - [just days] before Tier 4 came in [for London]. It was exactly a month.
"It wouldn't have been ideal to be stuck together into the New Year. I would have had to stick him in the man cave and left food out for him."
Rosanna had first started chatting to Andrew after another break-up last summer and the pair hit it off immediately - enjoying WhatsApp video dates.
The duo even got matching tattoos on their wrists, Rosanna of Andrew's Sydney co-ordinates and him of her UK ones.
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The couple then agreed to make the huge move and fly Andrew in from Australia - with Rosanna making her spare room into a man cave with a giant mural of Sydney Harbour.
Rosanna said: "I waited for him and went to Heathrow to pick him up. It was really nice, for a month.
"Things just got to him with the lockdown. It was the winter, always dark, and he was really struggling with that.
"He came from a country with low covid-19 rates to a country with high rates.
"These are unusual times. If this was a normal time, I'd go over there then he'd come over here [more].
"People should do each country at least once, and stay for at least a month, because moving in together changes the whole dynamic.
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"When Andrew said he wanted to go back, it was a shock, but I brought it up first. I simply asked 'are you okay?'.
"The reason I asked that was I could feel him becoming distant.
"It was the little things like sleeping on the edge of the bed rather than closer. I noticed he was becoming distant for about half a week before I asked him that question.
"After that, all the stuff came out that he wasn't happy here and wanted to go back.
"If I asked him later, he would have had to stay here. It would have been very difficult to go back.
"He was very lucky to go when he did."
The night of their break-up, Andrew and Rosanna still exchanged Christmas presents - though she wept into hers as reality sunk in.
She now plans to repurpose Andrew's man cave into a Tiki bar where she can enjoy cocktails with friends when restrictions are lifted.
I don't think he wanted this - he didn't know what to do
Rosanna Wilson
Rosanna said: "I had the Sydney harbour mural [done]. It's still there.
"I'm ordering another wall mural to go up there. It's going to be a beach theme.
"My dad has taken to woodwork over lockdown and he's built me a bar. I'm going to put that in there with the beach theme behind it so it looks like a Tiki bar. That's where I'm going to vlog.
"We'd bought presents for each other. The night we broke up, a few days before he left, it was Saturday night and he said 'do you want your Christmas presents now then, because you might as well?'
"It was a large mixture of emotions. I love presents, but I was crying whilst opening my Christmas presents.
"We exchanged presents on that Saturday night to take the edge off what was happening.
"He got me some Tim Tam [chocolate biscuit] pyjamas that they have in Australia and made some things for me. I got him some Vans."
Since the break-up, Andrew has been back in touch to apologise for leaving and asked if the pair can remain friends.
Rosanna has used her platform on social media to help remain positive, but warns other women in her position to be more cautious.
Rosanna said: "I don't think he wanted this - he didn't know what to do.
"He got back in contact and I have remained friends. He apologised. He's out of his quarantine in Australia and he said 'I'm sorry I ran away'.
"In my latest video, I asked 'what would Beyoncé do?' Let's get on with it now.
"My advice to people doing long distance is you'll both need to agree to work on it.
"Before moving in together, make sure you're really honest with each other about what annoys you. We did that.
"Andrew knew I hated when people don't put the toilet seat down. In Australia, they tend not to carry a basket. He'd put it in his backpack and put through the till at the end.
"I found that uncomfortable but it's normal over there. [I would advise others to] talk about any cultural differences, flaws and annoyances first.
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"The main advice after a break-up is keep busy. It helps.
"I've got Flash, my dog, who is my saviour, or I'd be truly on my own."
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