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Lewis and Ameila Relfe overcame a distance of 3,653 miles to be together
Hannah CottrellMonday 24 November 2025 09:25 GMTComments
open image in galleryLewis and Ameila Relfe welcomed their first child, Evelyn, in April 2024
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A transatlantic love story, born from a "survival horror" video game, has culminated in a Welsh home and a new family for a couple who got married online.
Lewis and Ameila Relfe, 25 and 32, first connected in 2017 through the online game Friday The 13th, where players evade a masked killer.
Their shared gaming sessions and online chats quickly forged a deep connection, despite Lewis being in Wales and Ameila 3,653 miles away in Saltville, Virginia.
Their long-distance romance saw them meet in person in April 2018, with Lewis proposing during a romantic Halloween trip to Aberystwyth the following year.
Covid-19 thwarted initial wedding plans, but the determined pair married via video call on New Year’s Day 2021.
Now settled in Ceredigion, Wales, the couple recently welcomed their daughter, Evelyn, who was born in April 2024.
open image in galleryLewis and Ameila on holiday together in 2022“Even though most of our relationship was spent living so far apart, it all feels like a distant memory now,” Lewis, an assistant cheese maker at a dairy farm, said.
“I think playing video games helped keep us together because we spent a lot of time bonding through it.”
Ameila, who works at a local restaurant, added: “Moving to the UK and starting a family isn’t something I imagined doing.
“Once we started going through the process and we knew it was a possibility, it was a relief after so many years of waiting.”
The couple first connected when Lewis sent Ameila a link to join his “private party” – which allows Xbox players to start chatting one-on-one – after finishing a game of Friday The 13th in July 2017.
Ameila said she clicked the link without thinking before realising she was on the line with a complete stranger.
open image in galleryAmeila said watching her daughter grow and learn is ‘really special’She was about to leave the call when Lewis started talking.
“He said ‘hello’ and I realised it was a British person, so I decided to stay,” Ameila said.
“From then on, we started playing games together every day and became really good friends, and then it just kind of grew from that.”
The pair started developing feelings for each other and became more than friends after Lewis plucked up the courage to ask Ameila out – but not before they had a video call to ensure neither was getting catfished.
Ameila then upped the ante in April 2018 when she visited Lewis in Wales for the first time.
“I was a bit nervous because it was my first time leaving the US,” she said.
“A lot of people told me I was crazy to travel to another country to meet someone who I had met online.”
open image in galleryLewis and Ameila visiting Washington DC in 2022They met at the airport in what Lewis described as a “surreal moment” and spent the next two weeks together.
The trip was a huge success and Ameila returned to the UK periodically, even staying for six months in June 2019.
Lewis decided to pop the question, dressed as Friday The 13th killer Jason Voorhees, while the couple were staying at a caravan park in Aberystwyth on Halloween in 2019 – Ameila’s favourite holiday.
“We went out on the town and we went to the pier,” Lewis recalled.
“I distracted her by telling her to look at the view.
“When she turned around, I was on my knees and my words were ‘do you want to marry me or something?’
“And then she said to me ‘are you sure?'”
open image in galleryLewis and Ameila dressed up the night they got engagedWedding planning commenced and the couple looked to celebrate their nuptials in the United States on Halloween in 2020 – until their plans were scuppered by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Determined to tie the knot, Lewis and Ameila were officially pronounced husband and wife over video call instead on 1 January 2021.
“It was a video call between me, Lewis and the officiant who married us,” Ameila said.
“I was a bit sceptical at first – like, is this legit?
“Me and my mum opened a bottle of wine to celebrate and Lewis’s family were in the room with him on the video call, so we all celebrated.”
open image in galleryLewis and Ameila getting virtually married over video call on New Year’s Day in 2021An in-person vow renewal may now be on the horizon for the couple so they can celebrate their marriage in a more traditional manner, but they say it is not something they currently have the budget for.
“We do wish the original ceremony could have been in person with our family and friends,” Lewis added.
Married at last, Ameila began her application for a visa and was given the green light in February 2023, before moving over the following month.
The pair have lived together in Wales ever since, and they welcomed their first child, Evelyn, in April 2024 – which has been an “interesting experience”.
“It’s been rewarding, there are times where it’s really stressful and exhausting, but that’s part of parenting,” Ameila said.
“Seeing her grow and learn new things is really special.”
open image in galleryLewis said becoming a father has been a ‘surreal experience’Lewis added: “It’s a surreal experience to spend most of your life without something, and then all of a sudden you have this little human that’s half you and half your partner.”
Living under one roof with a young child requires “teamwork”, the pair said – but playing video games together has given them plenty of practice.
“There’s a lot of teamwork and it took a bit of time to get used to each other’s quirks,” Ameila said.
Ameila has recently applied for an extension to her visa to remain in the UK, and she said there are times where she “misses being back home” – but she enjoys the “laid back” nature of Wales and her mother, Mitzi, 53, visits often.
There are also talks of the couple having more children in the near future.
open image in galleryLewis and Ameila want to grow their family in the near future“It’s more likely when we see Evelyn smile…when she starts crying it’s less likely,” Lewis joked.
The pair still dabble in playing video games together but this is now scheduled around Evelyn’s nap times.
Reflecting on their journey, Lewis and Ameila advised other couples in the throes of long-distance relationships to “not give up”.
Lewis also said playing video games together can “really help”.
“A lot of people going the distance communicate through texts and calls but there’s only so much you can really connect through that,” he said.
“Because we played video games, it was an activity, a hobby, that we could enjoy together – and we didn’t have to be in the same room to do it.”
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