Ah, the joy of love and the allure of finding an Italian partner! Florence, the city of romance, is brimming with stories of visitors who come for a holiday and end up staying forever. They fall for a Florentine and their lives are forever changed. With its vibrant expat community and rich tapestry of international connections, Florence feels like a home away from home, a city where beauty and connection make it almost impossible not to be in love.
But having a partner from a different culture and being so far from home comes with a bagful of complications. Add these to the normal challenges of being in any relationship and you just might have a recipe for disaster. It’s not easy to settle in a new place, even if the love of your life is by your side. So, how come we know these blissfully happy multicultural couples who seem to stand the test of time?
There are so many complexities in a multicultural relationship like celebrating different holidays, family expectations, communication styles and getting lost in translation. How do couples overcome these to have a happy and healthy relationship? The answer is straightforward, but not simple. Couples who stay the course build their own culture and make their own traditions. On top of this, they have a deep respect for each other’s differences, which are seen as a plus, never as something to change or run away from. They learn each other’s languages and are fascinated by the traditions they hear about.
A partner who moves across an ocean to make a relationship work has an added hurdle: the loss and grief that comes with such a huge step. Having a sympathetic partner and a kind “adopted” family can make or break the couple. Making time to listen and find solutions together, if looked upon as a joint problem to be overcome, can bring these lovebirds closer. On the other hand, the partner in his/her/their home country has a burden of responsibility as a host, given that the boyfriend/girlfriend relies on him/her/them to understand the new world around them. This is not an easy task, but again, if it’s faced as a joint mission to be overcome together, it can be a great way to become even closer.
Ultimately, multicultural couples share the same opportunities for success as any other relationship—they thrive when based on the universal foundations of love: respect, acceptance, grit and a sense of humour. If these elements exist on both sides, can’t our love stories become truly extraordinary? If being an expat in love challenges us to master these essentials even more quickly, perhaps it’s a journey worth embracing for everyone.
