An Irish woman redefined “long distance relationship” after flying an incredible 7,000 miles to Hawaii to meet an American man she’d matched with on Tinder — and now the two have a child together.
“Never in a million years did I think I would fall in love and start a family after accepting that Tinder message,” Clodagh O’Sullivan, 22, told SWNS of their intercontinental romance.
The incredible love story began all the way back in July 2019, while her future beau Brady Elliot, 25, was vacationing in Ireland. The Hawaii-based US Navy medic had booked a day trip to see the Cliffs of Moher in O’Sullivan’s hometown of Dingle on Ireland’s southwest Atlantic coast.
Shortly after leaving while awaiting his flight home, Elliot started trawling Tinder for romantic prospects, whereupon he matched with the Emerald Isle gal.
“Brady was on a day trip to Cliffs of Moher, Dingle, so our apps must have been in proximity for about an hour when we matched,” said O’Sullivan. “It’s really lucky we crossed paths.”
“I couldn’t really see his photos on Tinder so I wasn’t that interested, but he then sent me a funny meme from ‘The Office’ and it made me laugh,” explained a lovestruck O’Sullivan.
Hawaii resident Brady Elliot and Clodagh O’Sullivan of Ireland hold their newborn son, Jamie Elliot. Courtesy Clodagh O'Sullivan/SWNS
“Never in a million years did I think I would fall in love and start a family after accepting that Tinder message,” said O’Sullivan. Courtesy Clodagh O'Sullivan/SWNS
“We kept talking for months and call nonstop and finally got her a ticket,” said Elliot. Courtesy Clodagh O'Sullivan/SWNSUnfortunately, despite linking up virtually, the two future soulmates didn’t have a chance to meet in person as Elliott, a musician, had to fly back to Hawaii for work, SWNS reported. “He was about to fly so couldn’t meet in person, but asked to add me on Instagram, and we started sending messages and speaking,” explained O’Sullivan.
“I was pretty obsessed with her from the get-go,” added Elliot. “Even though it seemed a bit silly to keep texting someone two oceans away.”
O’Sullivan “didn’t expect anything to really come from it,” but after chatting daily on Facetime for hours on end, a romance began to blossom.
“I knew Clodagh was the one right there in that airport and our first few weeks together felt like we had known each other through a thousand lifetimes,” Elliot gushed of their first meeting. Courtesy Clodagh O'Sullivan/SWNS
O’Sullivan initially had reservations about flying 7,000 miles to meet a man she’d only interacted with online. Courtesy Clodagh O'Sullivan/SWNS
The pair spent Christmas together in Florida, Elliot’s home state. Courtesy Clodagh O'Sullivan/SWNSA few months later, in 2019, Elliott mustered up the courage to invite his girlfriend-to-be to visit him in Hawaii — a whopping 7,000 miles away.
Unsurprisingly, O’Sullivan had reservations about flying across the world to meet someone she’d only interacted with online. “I nearly talked myself out of going to meet him,” the then-hesitant Tinder match recalled. “For all I knew, he was some 80-year-old man catfishing me.”
“It’s really not like me to do something so spontaneous,” added the Irishwoman, who was somewhat put at ease by the fact that she’d spoken with Elliot’s friends and family.
O’Sullivan said she was ultimately “glad” she “booked the flight” as she “felt a spark straightaway” upon meeting the Hawaiian resident. “As soon as we met, I knew he was the one,” the starry-eyed O’Sullivan said of her American lover, who felt the same way.
“I knew Clodagh was the one right there in that airport and our first few weeks together felt like we had known each other through a thousand lifetimes,” Elliot gushed of their first meeting.
“I was pretty obsessed with her from the get-go,” explained Elliot of his online correspondence with O’Sullivan. “Even though it seemed a bit silly to keep texting someone two oceans away.” Courtesy Clodagh O'Sullivan/SWNS
“Brady was on a day trip to Cliffs of Moher, Dingle, so our apps must have been in proximity for about an hour when we matched,” said O’Sullivan, describing how the two met on Tinder. “It’s really lucky we crossed paths.” Courtesy Clodagh O'Sullivan/SWNS
“I kept asking her to visit me in Hawaii because I knew she was something insanely special,” said Elliot. Courtesy Clodagh O'Sullivan/SWNSFrom there, the pair’s romance took off like an intercontinental rocket. That Christmas, O’Sullivan visited her new BF in Florida, where he’s originally from, and it was there that they made their relationship official.
Then, during a vacation in Jamaica and the US in October 2020, O’Sullivan became pregnant with a baby boy, named Jamie Elliot, who arrived in July 2021.
After their baby’s birth, Elliot moved to Dingle, Ireland, and bought a house with his girlfriend and new son and they hope to get married soon.
“We didn’t plan to have a baby, but it was the best surprise,” said the now-mother. “I never thought anything like this would ever happen.”
She added, “But things felt right with Brady, and I had to follow my heart.”
“I was so nervous on the flight thinking: ‘What am I doing here?'” said O’Sullivan of accepting Elliot’s invitation to visit him in Hawaii. “It’s really not like me to do something so spontaneous.” Courtesy Clodagh O'Sullivan/SWNS
“I did worry I wouldn’t feel the same when we met in person, but I definitely felt a spark straightaway,” said O’Sullivan. Courtesy Clodagh O'Sullivan/SWNS
Elliot welcomed his and O’Sullivan’s son, Jamie, in July 2021. Courtesy Clodagh O'Sullivan/SWNSO’Sullivan’s paramour seconded her sentiment. “Living in Ireland is amazing — I never would have imagined living in a different country,” he said. “But living here with her and our little baby boy is the most surreal thing I will ever experience, and I love every second of it.”
In a similarly aww-inspiring transoceanic love story last year, a UK woman reportedly fell in love with a New York co-worker she moved in with during COVID-19 quarantine — and kept their ensuing romance a secret from other colleagues for a whole year.
