An American man who travelled 20 hours to meet his international girlfriend for the first time ended up having to head home after... just two days.
Caleb, from Ohio, was pulled to the side by immigration officers when he arrived in Sydney, having hoped to fly on to Melbourne to meet online girlfriend of two years Cecilia.
His journey was documented in a resurfaced episode of Australian Border Security, which shows immigration official Yvonne quizzing him about his story.
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IT student Caleb tells her he is visiting a ‘friend’ and planned to stay for two weeks, explaining he has ‘about $100’ along with his visa debit card with $20-$30 on it.
When Yvonne points out that this isn’t much money to live on for a fortnight, he replies: “I've stretched money worse than this situation I'm in now.”
Caleb also admits his trip is a ‘risk’ as the immigration worker points out that meeting his ‘friend’ may not work out.
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Concerned by his story, immigration workers ask if he has a way of contacting Cecilia, but he says he doesn’t have her cell number.
They eventually manage to get hold of her in Melbourne Airport, where she is able to verify Caleb’s information over the phone before he continues his journey to join her.
“I met him over the internet about two years ago,” Cecilia – who had only seen one blurry photo of Caleb beforehand – explains.
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“We started emailing each other and at the beginning of this year he asked me for my number.
“I gave it to him and he called me. And we've been chatting on the phone ever since.”
Caleb admits he feels embarrassed by some elements of the trip – such as his lack of funds – but that he is excited to meet his girlfriend in person for the first time.
He says: “Things have a weird way of working out and even though I haven't met her, we both love each other very much.
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“I just need that closure of finally meeting her to solidify all the things that have been said and all the feelings and whatnot.”
The pair hug it out and head back to Cecilia’s house, but sadly Border Security later confirmed to the programme that Caleb – who had been planning to stay in Australia for at least a fortnight - flew back to the US just a few days later.
Topics: US News, Australia, TV and Film, Sex and Relationships
Jess Hardiman