It was November 2014 when Jeany and I first made contact through the online romance site -
Filipino Cupid. She was looking to meet someone outside of her own country and culture and so was I. Connecting with someone from overseas also seemed like a bit of adventure to me as well.
We chatted for a few days through the website, then moved onto Skype chats, and it was through talking on Skype, being able to see each other, that things really started to progress in a good way. I still remember vividly that very first Skype call I made to her. The moment I saw her face I was just blown away by her natural beauty, and also how naturally the conversation flowed between us as we spent many hours chatting.
After just a few weeks of Skype calls, I made the decision to travel to the Philippines and meet Jeany, as it was the only true way to tell if there was something real between us or not. I booked flights and spent 2 weeks in the Philippines with her just before Christmas in 2014. We had the best time and got on famously. I also met her sweet daughter, Jewel, and many of her friends and family (they have very large families in the Philippines).
Darren and Jeany, centre, pictured together on their wedding day with guests. Photo: Supplied Source: Supplied
When I returned to Australia it was obvious there was something really good between us, a strong connection and chemistry neither of us had really experienced before. I already knew that trying to bring Jeany and her daughter to Australia was going to be a long and expensive process, but we really wanted to spend more time together, and the easiest way to do that at the time was for me to go back to the Philippines for a while.
I was earning my income online, so I wasn’t tied to any one location, and spending time in the Philippines as an Australian tourist is easy enough, as you can simply keep extending your visa. With the cost of living cheaper in the Philippines and the ability to stay for extended periods as a tourist, it only made sense that I spend more time over in Jeany’s country so we could get to know each other better.
From mid-January 2015 to mid-April 2015 Jeany and I spent another 3 wonderful months together. However, my online income was really starting to dwindle and I was forced to return to Australia to regroup and make new plans.
I’ve been back in the Philippines since June 2016 and we’re still here, stuck with no way to get my family to Australia.
By this stage we were very much in love. We really wanted to get married and all live in Australia together. How we were going to make that happen with the extremely high price of the application for a Partner Visa, we didn’t yet know.
While I was back in Australia I started an online business that I thought would do really well in time and I managed to secure a loan for our Filipino wedding (which is also far cheaper than an Australian wedding). I returned to the Philippines in July 2015, to Jeany’s home town, and with the help of a local wedding planner, managed to organise a beautiful garden wedding for October 12, 2015.
Considering we were doing everything on a strict budget, the wedding turned out awesome. It all went to plan, the setting looked amazing, the weather cooperated, and my bride was absolutely stunning!
Darren is still trying to figure out a way to get both Jeany, and her daughter, to Australia. Photo: Supplied Source: Supplied
In December 2015 Jeany came to Australia with me for our honeymoon. She stayed for 5 weeks while her daughter remained behind in the Philippines. When her visit was over I was left trying to figure out a way to bring my wife and step daughter out to Australia to live, but as the process is so expensive in Australia (especially compared to other countries), I just didn’t have the money to do it; along with relocation costs and a number of other associated costs involved. The visa approval process can also take years in some instances, especially for Filipinos.
When months went by and Jeany and I had been apart for so long, and really getting nowhere with our plan, my sister offered to send me back to the Philippines for a while so my wife and I could spend some quality time together at least.
Having all of us living in Australia is our goal and dream, but as of now I’ve been back in the Philippines since June 2016 and we’re still here, stuck with no way to get my family to Australia.
Jeany and I have now been together more than 3 years, yet we still haven’t realised our dream, mainly due to the ever-increasing and high cost of the visa process.
