Online relationships can be a tricky thing, and apparently they’re even harder when you’re separated by several thousand miles and a bit of a language barrier. A Dutch romantic named Alexander Cirk learned just how brutal love can get when he tried to surprise his Chinese internet girlfriend with a sudden visit. Instead of a heartwarming encounter at the arrivals gate, he spent 10 days waiting at the airport for her before ending up in the hospital from exhaustion (and, we assume, a broken heart).
According to his internet girlfriend, who is identified in the press only by her last name ‘Zhang,’ the two had agreed to wait a year before meeting each other in person. So when Cirk sent her nothing but a picture of his plane ticket and then hopped on a flight, she didn’t realize what the hell was going on. Via Metro UK:
Zhang, whose phone was turned off because she was having surgery, later told local press: ‘We had advanced our romantic relationship but later he seemed a little callous towards me.
‘One day he sent me a photo of air tickets abruptly, and I thought it was a joke.
‘He didn’t contact me later.’
If you’re a woman or just a reasonable human being, you’ve probably noticed more red flags in this story than a Chinese airport. Not only did Cirk spring this poorly communicated surprise visit on her after only two months of online dating, he basically stranded himself in the airport on arrival instead of doing what every other man who’s been stood up in a foreign country would do: check into a hotel, get a stiff drink, and occasionally bathe and eat while waiting for things to shake out.
Instead, this guy gets himself hospitalized and onto the news. It’s become such a popular story in China that we’re talking about it here in America! That’s a level of embarrassment 10 times worse than a failed jumbotron proposal during the World Series. Regardless of what you think of Zhang and her explanation for not meeting him, the guy turned a failed rendez-vous into international news. Fortunately he survived somehow, but now he and Zheng have to live this down.
Apparently the two still plan to stay together despite this early hiccup. So I guess it’s as they say … true love waits.