A Liverpool woman who began an online relationship with a man she met on TikTok before the start of the pandemic is hoping to meet her partner for the first time.
Mandy Hammill, 40, Wirral, is hoping to raise £1k so that her partner Robert Russell, 37, can move from America.
Despite having dated for a year and a half, the couple have never physically met due to border restrictions.
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Robert is hoping to move to Liverpool from America, where he is currently living with a friend after losing his job and his house.
Mandy said: “No one gets us until they see us.
“He’s homeless and living with his mates and instead of getting an apartment over there (in America) he said to me ‘how would you feel about me moving here (to Liverpool)?'"
The GoFundMe has currently raised £400 for the couple, and Mandy that if her partner can get over to Liverpool, he wants to see “everything” in the city.
When speaking about the first thing she would do if Mr Russell moved over to Liverpool, Ms Hammill said: “I’d hug him, I would hold him for at least an hour! It’s mad how much you can fall in love with someone before meeting them.
“I’d love to just chill with him and do nothing.”
The couple met on TikTok and began dating 18 months ago and Ms Hammill says it has been an amazing experience: “We do everything together, we go on dates, we even go shopping.”
On her Tiktok page, named @deadlyn1ghtshade, the pair have gained thousands of views on videos showing the two of them together, with one commenter calling the couple “awesome”
Despite the money already raised on the GoFundMe page, Mandy said that she and Mr Russell have had to deal with some questions from people online.
Ms Hammill said: “We did have a few negative people saying, ‘what if he’s scamming?’ But I’m such a positive person I was just thinking ‘yeah but what if he isn’t?’”
“He just stood out and we fell for each other. After weeks of conversations, endless calls and getting to know each other we realised that it was more than just a silly crush and started to fall for each other.
“I’ve never asked anyone for anything, but I thought ‘you know what, let’s go for it’.
“I’ve never been married, I’ve never lived with someone, but this is different.”
You can find Mandy and Robert’s GoFundMe page, along with their full story, HERE.
