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"Dear Bridestory, my fiancé and I will soon be undergoing a long distance relationship due to the nature of his current work. He will be away from the country for about 1 to 2 years and then we plan to have our wedding straight away. My question is, how can we survive the long distance as best as possible without losing the romance? Neither of us has ever been in a long distance relationship before so I am nervous and scared – please, help!" - AnxiousFiance
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Dear AnxiousFiance,
First of all, congratulations on your engagement! It is completely understandable to feel nervous and anxious knowing that you are about to experience a long distance relationship with your partner regardless of how long you two have been together. Normal relationships already come with their own challenges and to add distance to the mix, it can easily feel quite daunting. But, don't worry – we will share with you full proof tips, which will not only help you and your partner make it through the years but also help you both to keep the romance alive.
Unfortunately, being in a long distance relationship comes with the fact that you won't be able to see your partner as much as you'd like to. Due to the distance you may end up feeling less 'connected' and less involved in your partner's day-to-day life. To nip this problem in the bud, what you and your partner can do is to amp up the communication. This means to constantly communicate with one another throughout the day, everyday. Send each other good morning and good night texts, and let each other in on what you both are doing for the day. Sending pictures or short videos here and there will really make the distance feel a lot less present and will keep the sparks alive.
The second good thing to do is to always set a date in which you both know you will see each other again in order to have something to look forward to together. This is very important to do because it is a big part of what will keep the romance alive in your relationship. It doesn't matter if the date is 2 months from now or 6 months from now – all that matters is that you both can hold on to something to motivate you to carry on. Having a date will help you both 'count down' to the days you will see each other again and this will ignite a sense of excitement, which tends to be more difficult to have otherwise.
The third peace of advice is to trust your partner completely. This should go without saying for any serious relationships to be able to survive over time but this is particularly vital for long distance relationships. Without complete trust in each other – the relationship can easily crumble under any amount of strain. Invest in the trust you both have for each other and take good care of it. Doing the first piece of advice, which is to constantly keep each other on the loop, can help in maintaining the trust. When trust is always nurtured in a relationship – you both will feel more calm and content, and there will be no need to feel anxious anymore.
These are the basic ingredients to make a long distance relationship work and once you are in the thick of the experience you will come across more lessons to be learnt and eventually gain more knowledge to make the relationship better. Just remember that it is a process and it is okay to make mistakes as long as you both stay committed to one another. Have faith in your relationship and good luck!
