When Nicole, 27, from Ontario, Canada, was having a browse on Instagram, she never expected to find her future husband.
The makeup artist had been looking on Instagram at places in Europe to visit, then came across a photo of Mokhtar Kerkeni, 25, in Tunisia.
‘I thought he was very good looking so I followed him,’ Nicole remembered. ‘He followed me back and from there we started chatting.’
Worrying that she might be talking to a catfish, Nicole asked Mokhtar to FaceTime her.
Soon enough, they were videocalling every day.
‘He would never let me go to sleep without FaceTiming him – the calls would be from an hour up to a couple of hours a day,’ said Nicole.
After three months of constant conversation, the pair knew there was something special between them.
So in January 2021, Nicole flew more than 4,300 miles to meet the man of her dreams.
Thanks to Covid lockdowns, she ended up staying in Tunisia for nearly three months – and realised that this was a perfect match.
At the end of that trip, Mokhtar proposed.
Nicole said: ‘We were both shocked how well it went, there were no fights, and it was so easy, like we were two best friends catching up.
‘I definitely found my soul mate.
‘He proposed to me towards the end of my first trip out there, after three months of being with him.’
In July, the couple tied the knot in a simple paper-signing ceremony. They plan to have a proper wedding next year in Tunisia.
‘When I told my parents they were so happy for us, and they couldn’t wait to meet him,’ Nicole shared.
‘I live in a small town in the countryside, so the men around me are more “hillbilly” style with mullets and plaid shirts with crocs and jean shorts. They’re the polar opposite of what I wanted in a partner.
‘My parents said my standards were too high until I showed them my available options.
‘I told them about Mokhtar and they could see how happy he made me, they saw me smiling at my phone constantly, and eventually they started speaking to him on FaceTime too.’
Nicole faced judgment from many for the relationship, but the couple haven’t let the naysayers affect them.
‘I lost a few friends,’ Nicole said. ‘They told me I was crazy, but they just didn’t understand.
‘I was being compared with 90 Day Fiancé, and they were telling me he just wants a green card.
‘It’s been quite difficult hearing this, but our families have been nothing but supportive and that’s all that matters.
‘I tried to tell my friends it’s the same as just meeting someone on Tinder, but if anything, it’s better because I’ve spent the last three months chatting to him and getting to know him on a deeper emotional level before we’d even met.
‘I’m that person who just wings it in life. I don’t follow social norms, if I see a chance, I’ll just take it.
‘I work in a salon, I always hear the town gossip and most of the time it’s about unhappy marriages, affairs and gossip. I didn’t want that, I wanted someone who had good morals and that’s what I got.
‘I know who he is as a person, I know he isn’t using me. He didn’t even know where I was from when we first started chatting so it’s not like he was looking for someone to use.
‘His family have successful businesses and he has a better education than I do! He could use his education to get a job anywhere, or a working visa. I don’t think Canada was on his top places to go anyway as it’s so far away.
‘Mokhtar tells me to ignore the comments, but it can get out of hand. I’ve literally heard everything under the sun, people tell me I’m ugly and fat – the bullying is next level.
‘People constantly tell him he can do better and to get a green card and leave me.
‘There’s been over 2000 comments with people saying he’s using me, people also think he’s gay and say “who’s going to tell her her is husband is gay and he wants to be in a country where he can be gay”.
‘People also pick on him because he was born in north Africa but has blonde hair and blue eyes. He also gets accused of having lip filler.
‘I’d say the online bullying is the hardest part of our relationship.’
None of this matters to Nicole and Mokhtar, though. What’s important to them is their relationship.
‘We’re happier than ever,’ Nicole added. ‘It’s like the world gave him to me and he just came into my life.’
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source https://metro.co.uk/2022/09/10/couple-travel-around-the-world-to-be-together-after-meeting-on-instagram-17342119/
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