Anna and Antonio

I am Anna, an ordinary Ukrainian girl. Italy had been part of my dreams long before Antonio ever became part of my life. I was studying Italian and had always imagined myself taking a long journey through Italy, discovering its beautiful cities, small villages, traditions, food and incredible atmosphere.

For years, this trip remained one of those special dreams I kept promising myself I would fulfill one day. When I registered on an international dating website, however, finding a husband was definitely not part of my plan. I joined mostly because I wanted to practice my language skills, meet interesting people from other countries and, to be completely honest, enjoy a little harmless flirting along the way. I certainly never imagined that somewhere among those online conversations I would meet the love of my life.

Then Antonio appeared, and almost immediately there was something about him that made our conversations different from all the others. He was incredibly kind, funny, charming and so naturally charismatic that it was almost impossible not to smile while talking to him. What began as casual communication quickly became the conversation I looked forward to most every single day.

Soon I realized that I was no longer practicing a foreign language. I was falling in love with the man on the other side of the screen. When we finally met, Antonio was exactly the person I had come to know online, only somehow even warmer, funnier and more irresistible in real life. Italy, which had once been simply the country I dreamed of exploring, suddenly became connected to something much more important: love, family and my future.

Today Antonio and I are a family, and sometimes I still find it unbelievable how completely one unexpected online meeting changed the direction of my life. We are raising our two wonderful children together, and watching Antonio as a father has given me even more reasons to love the man I once met by chance online. We still share a passion for travel and try to discover new places together whenever life gives us the opportunity. But perhaps our biggest shared adventure was deciding to open our own restaurant in Italy and turn another dream into reality.

Our restaurant became more than a business for us. It represents our love of people, food, family, hospitality and the life we have created together. I found Antonio, became a mother, built a family and somehow watched all of my biggest dreams come true in ways I could never have planned.