Teenage friendship blossoms into love for couple who talk online for eight years only meeting after discovering they share an incurable health condition

Teenage friendship blossomed into love for a couple who spent eight years speaking as pals online before meeting for the first time after discovering they shared a painful and incurable health condition.

When flight attendant Alisha Vernon, 22, met aircraft engineer Ryan White, 24, for the first time in May 2021, near his home in Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire, Scotland, her feelings for him were instant and intense.

After speaking online since 2014, Alisha, who was then living in the Derbyshire Peak District, was smitten, saying: “It was surreal to open the car door and see him there.”

She added: “Even though it was our first time meeting, we had already known each other for seven years at that point and shared more than many couples do in a lifetime.

“We clicked right away and couldn’t deny our feelings for each other.

“People might say you can’t possibly love someone you haven’t met but I know that you can. I’d always had a soft spot for Ryan and meeting him just confirmed how I felt.”

Their friendship began when they randomly added each other on Instagram in 2014 and began messaging from time to time as pals.

Alisha, who like Ryan has the inflammatory bowel condition ulcerative colitis,  said: “It wasn’t until January 2018 when my condition had flared up and I posted a picture of myself on Snapchat that Ryan messaged me to ask if I was OK and I told him what was wrong with me.”

She was stunned by Ryan’s response when he told her that he had also been diagnosed with the long-term condition where the colon and rectum become inflamed.

After discovering their shared ailment, they exchanged supportive messages daily.

Alisha said: “We spoke all the time and when my health declined in 2019, Ryan was a massive support to me.

“I was in hospital a lot during that time and ended up having a stoma bag fitted to collect the waste I pass.”

She added: “I messaged Ryan a lot during that time, as out of all my friends and family, he was the only person who truly understood what I was going through, so it was a huge comfort to have him to lean on.

“He even sent flowers to me in hospital.

“Despite the ordeal, after having surgery, I felt a lot better and life started looking up for me.”

While they were sharing intimate details about their distressing health problem, the pair had never actually met and lived in different countries.

Alisha said: “Life just kept getting in the way. We were a four-and-a-half-hour drive apart and we both had jobs and busy lives.

“I’d been suffering with my health in 2019 and just as I was feeling better the following year, the pandemic hit, so that pushed back any hope of meeting each other again.”

It was not until May 2021 that they finally made plans to meet in the flesh.

Alisha said: “I travelled up to spend a few days with him in Scotland.

“Despite everything we’d talked about, when Ryan picked me up at the hotel, I remember feeling so nervous, but he did not disappoint me.”

Following Alisha’s visit, the pair met up every three weeks.

“Depending on our work shift patterns, I would go up to see him or he’d travel down to see me,” she continued.

“We tried to see each other at least once every three weeks, but it was really difficult to organise.”

She added: “Every bit of time off I had was spent travelling.

“Then, in August, we went away to York for my birthday and talked about how the relationship was going to work long-term.

“Ryan already had a house, so I decided it made sense for me to move up to Scotland.”

So, in October 2021, Alisha moved in with Ryan in Kilmarnock.

She said: “Once I’d moved in with Ryan, he was starting to suffer quite badly with his health. It was tough for both of us, as I was quite isolated in a new place and Ryan was spending a lot of time in hospital.

“Just two weeks after I moved up, he went in for the procedure I’d already had to have a stoma bag fitted.”

She added: “For me, it was a relief when he decided to get it done, because he was struggling a lot with things like fatigue.

“The difference in him after he had the op was huge.

“And, just a month later, we went on holiday to Tenerife.”

She added: “Since then, we’ve both been dealing with our condition well and we’re even house hunting together for a new home.

“Having a partner who understands exactly what I’m going through and vice versa has only made us closer.

“I still can’t believe that we found each other by chance and the incredible coincidence that we had the same condition.

“At least we can be sure of one thing and that’s that we will love each other in sickness and in health.”

* For more information on Ulcerative Colitis, visit: www.crohnsandcolitis.org.uk