27 December 2023 , 09:41
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A couple's holiday romance turned into a serious long-distance relationship - and they have spent the last five years 2,500 miles apart.
Demi Lamb, 20, met her partner Bayram Kara, 23, on a yacht in Marmaris, Turkey whilst on a family holiday in 2018. Despite being shy, yacht crewman Bayram plucked up the courage to introduce himself to Demi.
After exchanging details, the pair kept in regular communication after Demi returned home to Edinburgh. Although five years have gone by, the pair haven't stopped talking since. They decided to become an official item two years ago, prompting Demi to fly out in February to meet Bayram again in Turkey - five years after first meeting him.
Demi has since gone on to visit Bayram a further five times and spends her time off from university visiting her lover in Turkey. The couple hope to settle down in the country and own their own yacht after Demi graduates from her fashion marketing degree in 2025.
Demi and Bayram were reunited after five years apart (Demi Lamb / SWNS)Demi, a student as well as a wellbeing lead activities lead coordinator at a care home from Edinburgh, said: "He'll tell you that I caught his eye. We spoke for maybe 10 minutes, I was very quiet and he was extremely shy.
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"He approached me with a nudge from another crew member, when he asked my name, how I was, my age, and how the night was going, before he pulled his phone out to use Google translate as he knew very little English.
"At this point, I only knew how to say hello in Turkish! We exchanged social media and then two weeks after I got home he messaged and we just had constant back and forth."
The 2,500 mile distance between them meant Bayram and Demi were constantly on the phone to each other.
She said: "When we first started speaking, because I was so young, I didn't know what was going to come of the situation and it was just a 'friends' situation for about three years and only two years ago we decided to take it to the next level.
"It was really difficult though and what helped massively was communication. We were on the phone 12 hours a day and falling asleep on FaceTime.
"There are a lot of apps that you're able to track locations etc so if we haven't answered we're able to know each other are safe and that helped a lot when he had to do national service which meant seven months with no contact."
The happy couple's relationship was not welcome by everyone in Demi's life. At first some members of her family pushed back against the romance.
The pair plan to live together in Turkey (Demi Lamb / SWNS)She said: "My dad was completely against it at the beginning, he thought he was a nice guy but he was worried about my safety. But since 2018, they've met him again and they've been so supportive and it's been a full 360 turn. They've come with me multiple times to visit him now."
Demi and Bayram - who is now a qualified yacht captain - had to wait almost five years before clasping eyes on one another for a second time. Since they have, her trips to be beside her beau have been far more regular.
"Since February I've been out five times and I go back out again in three weeks. I make sure it works out with my uni timetable so it ranges from a week to three weeks as to how long I'm able to go for," Demi said.
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"His job is seasonal so what we had spoken about is me going there for the summer and then him coming here in the winter - it would be nice for us to live and experience both cultures."
Demi hopes to utilise her skills as a fashion student to one day open up her own shop in Turkey after she moves out to the country in June 2025.
She added: "I can design digitally, which I can do remotely too, so I hope to do something with that. I also do clothes tailoring so I might look at some form of shop as well. I plan to move out June 2025, after my degree and we are both extremely excited about the move because it’s so difficult being apart and communicating through the phone. Our future plans will be to have our own family, own our own yacht, and never look back."
Demi's top-tips for those who find themselves in a long-distance romance is to maintain trust and communication. She said: "Try and find others who are in similar situations and speak to them about it. Trust and communication can do wonderful things."