Many relationships between foreigners and Thai women start with an ocean between them, whether because the foreigner went home after a holiday or the relationship began online before either of them booked a flight. Here we gather stories about the waiting, the time zones, and the trust that long distance demands — and what happened once it ended, one way or another. Stories like Mali's, who talked to her partner every day for years before living together, show that distance itself doesn't predict the outcome — consistency does. For the full pattern breakdown, see our Long Distance topic guide.
A 35-year-old Belgian sent to Pattaya for work met Nong, a woman working in a bar to support her sister. After a year of visits and video calls, they sorted out a visa and she moved to Belgium. Six months later, despite the family's doubts, the relationship is still working out.
A 46-year-old Dane met Bun, a 26-year-old Thai translator, and they talked daily for seven months before meeting in person. They spent a month together between Bangkok and Pattaya with no red flags at all. Weeks after he got home, she vanished, and pre-wedding photos on Facebook were the last clue.
A 50-year-old Australian met Mali in Bangkok, a highly educated woman he spoke to every day for months. When she finally told her mother about the relationship, her mother demanded a $35,000 dowry and $2,000 a month. The story of a breakup nobody considers normal, not even Thai people themselves.
A 25-year-old British English teacher met Nisa in Khon Kaen, a university graduate from Isaan with zero interest in the nightlife scene. Her mum, living in Germany, had other plans for her daughter. This is the story of how he won the family over and decided to stay in Thailand.
After seeing plenty of bar scams in Thailand, a Swedish man was introduced online to a woman from Isaan looking for something serious. Months of daily calls and a visit to her family later, the relationship never quite came together. It wasn't the love story he hoped for, and it wasn't a scam either.
On a group tour of Thailand in 2019, an Irishman met a divorced woman running several small businesses on Koh Samui. Lockdown forced her to move back to Isaan, but they never stopped talking every single day. Years later, he's planning to propose on his next visit.
After a separation, a 41-year-old Belgian tried south east Asian dating sites and ran into scam after scam, starting with a Filipino woman who always had a new family emergency. He then met a Thai woman who never asked him for anything, and married her on her fifth visit to Europe.
A 54-year-old Austrian had been travelling alone to Thailand for years when he met Aom, a pregnant woman, with no expectations between them. Months later she asked him for 60,000 baht for her mother's hospital bill. Instead of sending the money, he flew to Kanchanaburi to check it out in person.
A 43-year-old Welshman went back to Thailand looking for a quiet holiday around Bangkok and Pattaya. He ended up meeting, almost by accident, a 47-year-old Thai woman with kids in Scotland. Now he's planning to drive up to Edinburgh to see her and maybe move there with her.
A divorce sent me to Pattaya on holiday with my brother. There I met Nat, a single mother who'd lost her partner before her daughter was born. I fell in love, started doing bike deliveries at night to support her, and months later proposed at Bangkok airport. We've been married four years now in London.