After rekindling their romance 31 years after their first holiday romance, a couple is moving in together.
When visiting Devon in 1989, Guenther Baer from Germany and Kate Pymm from Guisborough were respectively 17 and 23 years old.
They wrote each other love letters for four years before losing touch, leading separate lives, and getting married to people they would later divorce.
However, they were reunited and married after a chance discovery of their letters.
In 1989, Kate traveled to the South West with her mother and closest friend.
Kate, who is now 50, recalled their first meeting by saying, "I remember me and my mom went for a bite to eat in this beautiful village. I spotted this stunning man as soon as we entered the bar. ".
Guenther, who is currently 57 years old, went to England to sharpen his language abilities.
She struck up a conversation with him after deciding he reminded her of Magne Furuholmen from the 1980s band A-ha, and they agreed to meet up again the following day.
We bonded over our conversations, but we only had a day and a half before returning to our respective homes, she said.
After exchanging addresses, they maintained their relationship for two years through frequent letters, "expensive" phone calls, and sporadic in-person meetings.
But Kate decided the long-distance relationship couldn't last and called it quits in 1991.
We both loved each other, but it became heartbreakingly difficult, and I regrettably had to make the decision to end things. I simply stated that I do not see how this can be made to work, Kate said.
Up until 1993, when their correspondence ended, they kept writing to one another in letters.
Guenther later had three children, while Kate started her own cosmetics company. Both got divorced after getting married to other people.
But it wasn't until Kate, who had saved every single love letter, discovered them in November 2020 while looking for Christmas decorations.
She recalled: "It was the first box I discovered. I lifted out the letters, went to the bedroom, arranged them chronologically, and read them all from front to back.
The weekend was extremely emotional and brought back many memories. ".
Kate thought about Guenther every day for the following few weeks. She was unaware that he had been considering her for the past eight years.
Guenther is not on social media, so Kate made the decision to look up his address and write to him. However, she acknowledged that "it took a while to find him.".
"I was stunned when I opened her letter that day. I had to pick up the phone as soon as I received the letter and call her because I was so shocked and happy, Guenther said.
After speaking every day since that phone call, which Kate clearly recalls was at 12:36 GMT on November 22, the two finally got together in January 2021.
"I just loved him," she proclaimed, "it was so strange, it was so organic, and I wanted to tell him I loved him. " .
They were wed in December 2021 in Bavaria.
And this week, Kate is getting ready to move out of Teesside and begin her life in Germany with Guenther on Sunday.
"I must say I can't be more grateful that she did what she did, to write me a letter," Guenther said. ".
Part of you feels like you've waited 31 years, but there have also been many adventures during that time. Guenther had three children, and I had a successful business.
"It's been challenging, but when something is right, I know it is right.
. "
