After a year of dating, couple separated by U.S.-Canada border restrictions finally meets
Before they’d even held hands, Matt and Olivia were in love.
Behind screens, the couple has spent more than a year becoming one. Hundreds of hours were spent on FaceTime, sharing laughs and secret hopes for the future – in a time rife with uncertainty, when planning for the future feels futile but necessary for survival.
“She was just different; I don’t know how to say it,” said Matt Leckie, 24, of Windsor in Ontario, Canada. She was looking for something serious and he – like many Tinder users – wasn’t. But there was something about her that Matt couldn’t ignore.
Despite being separated by a mere 10 miles, she in Dearborn, Michigan, and he in Windsor, the two are worlds apart because of U.S.-Canada border restrictions. At first, they decided perhaps friendship was the best path for the time being, or at least until the border reopened.
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However, it was April 2020, and little did Matt and Olivia know that extensions of the border closure would be announced on a monthly basis for another 16 months.
“Every month we’d get our hopes up, and I’d call him crying because I’d be so sad and disappointed,” said Olivia Wengrowski, 23. “I would get super frustrated; I didn’t like living with the uncertainty. But I never had doubts or questioned whether I wanted to be with him.”
The U.S.-Canada border closed to nonessential travel in March 2020, and since then, restrictions have stretched to include essential and business travel, but land borders into Canada are scheduled to open on Monday. The U.S. has extended border restrictions until Aug. 21.
A campaign advocating to allow families and loved ones separated by the border to reunite was launched, and hundreds of stories have poured onto the Let Us Reunite website. Stories of grandparents who have yet to meet grandchildren and parents sacrificing their family time for careers fill the pages of the campaign’s site.
With little choice, the Leckie and Wengrowski FaceTimed every night, and, month by month, the couple created a foundation built upon open communication and vulnerability. They filled their weekends with virtual dates and family game nights.
“We're both super committed like we just have that in our brains and our hearts,” Wengrowski said. “We were just raised that way – to stay loyal to someone that you really love. And when you have that love, it's just no question that I don't need to go find someone else because it's easy. We both are very unique, and we like when things are tougher, we don't do easy.”
Their whirlwind love story is free of modern dating woes, something that piqued and confirmed Wengrowski's interest in Leckie. In the age of “Catfish” and swipe exhaustion, finding a diamond in the rough,someone with honest intentions, is not to be overlooked.
“He’s consistent, and I never had to worry about being ghosted or any red flags,” Wengrowski said.
Despite their proximity to the border, neither has dated anyone from the neighboring country – or been in a long-term, long-distance relationship before – but that didn’t deter either of them. Matt is a die-hard Detroit sports fan and often crossed the border to enjoy the city or stroll through Target with his mom.
But after more than a year of dating, Matt flew into Detroit on Wednesday. What would have been a 30-minute drive, at maximum, turned into an hours-long voyage from the Toronto Pearson International Airport.
To get to Olivia, Matt took two bus rides to get to Toronto then boarded a 40-minute flight, the journey cost him nearly $1,000. Driving would have made a miniscule dent in his gas tank.
“She’s worth it,” Leckie said. “It’s crazy, but she’s worth it.”
And finally, after more than a year, Matt and Olivia had their first hug at the Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport.
“We’re still in shock,” Wengrowski said. “It’s what we’ve been missing.”
The two have five days to make up for lost time before Matt has to go home.
“We just want to be a normal couple, I want to call him and say, ‘Hey, come over,’ and he can drive over.
“But no matter where he is, I love him.”
Contact Miriam Marini: mmarini@gannett.com