A woman who a married man she hadn't met on ZOOM officially has had their marriage annulled - and says it is "a weight lifted".
Ayse Reeves, 27, still hasn't met Darrin Martin, then 24, who she met on a Facebook group in lockdown.
They struck became a couple in November 2020 and Ayse tried to visit him in Michigan, US, but said she was turned away by US immigration.
That didn't stop Darrin proposing in May 2012 via FaceTime, and they married in August 2021 via a ZOOM call in a legal ceremony officiated in Utah, US.
But Ayse claims their relationship quickly fell apart and in December 2021, and she filed for an annulment.
The decree absolute finally came through in April this year.
She claims the marriage broke down after he cheated on her - an infidelity he admits - but he claims he only did it because she was unfaithful.
Ayse, a full-time student, from Lancaster, Lancs., said: "When the letter came through to tell me I was no longer married, it was like a weight lifted off my shoulders.
"It felt like I couldn't move on because I was still tied to him.
"Looking back, it feels like it wasn’t real because I didn’t meet him.
"I was in a little bubble, I got so swept up in getting married that I didn't think about how it was a crazy thing to do.
"I've definitely learnt not to rush into things - I would not get into something serious without meeting them now."
When the UK went into lockdown, Ayse joined a Facebook group to find an overseas pen pal, and found Darrin.
They began speaking daily on the phone despite the five-hour time difference - and Ayse completely altered her sleep pattern so she could sleep at the same time as him.
Ayse was turned away at US immigration on what would be their first meeting, because the immigration office claimed she ‘didn’t have enough money in her bank to support herself during her stay’ and ‘didn’t have strong enough ties to the UK’, she said.
Ayse claims the couple’s engagement was supported by both of their families - and Darrin had asked permission from her dad in advance.
The couple initially planned to tie the knot when they finally got the chance to meet for the first time.
But, after reading about a new law passed that made international virtual wedding ceremonies legal in the state of Utah, US, they decided to go ahead straight away.
Ayse and Darrin tied the knot on August 19, 2021, in an online ceremony, while their parents watched.
Cracks started to show when Ayse became suspicious Darrin might be seeing someone else a month after the wedding - when she says he became "distant", she claims.
Ayse ended the relationship in December and filed for an annulment citing "non-consummation” as the reason for the marriage ending.
However, due to Darrin being in the States and Ayse in the UK, it took over 15 months for the annulment to be finalised.
In November 2022, Ayse blocked Darrin on everything and claims she has heard nothing from him since.
Ayse Reeves, 27, still hasn't met Darrin Martin, then 24, who she met on a Facebook group in lockdown.
They struck became a couple in November 2020 and Ayse tried to visit him in Michigan, US, but said she was turned away by US immigration.
That didn't stop Darrin proposing in May 2012 via FaceTime, and they married in August 2021 via a ZOOM call in a legal ceremony officiated in Utah, US.
But Ayse claims their relationship quickly fell apart and in December 2021, and she filed for an annulment.
The decree absolute finally came through in April this year.
She claims the marriage broke down after he cheated on her - an infidelity he admits - but he claims he only did it because she was unfaithful.
Ayse, a full-time student, from Lancaster, Lancs., said: "When the letter came through to tell me I was no longer married, it was like a weight lifted off my shoulders.
"It felt like I couldn't move on because I was still tied to him.
"Looking back, it feels like it wasn’t real because I didn’t meet him.
"I was in a little bubble, I got so swept up in getting married that I didn't think about how it was a crazy thing to do.
"I've definitely learnt not to rush into things - I would not get into something serious without meeting them now."
When the UK went into lockdown, Ayse joined a Facebook group to find an overseas pen pal, and found Darrin.
They began speaking daily on the phone despite the five-hour time difference - and Ayse completely altered her sleep pattern so she could sleep at the same time as him.
Ayse was turned away at US immigration on what would be their first meeting, because the immigration office claimed she ‘didn’t have enough money in her bank to support herself during her stay’ and ‘didn’t have strong enough ties to the UK’, she said.
Ayse claims the couple’s engagement was supported by both of their families - and Darrin had asked permission from her dad in advance.
The couple initially planned to tie the knot when they finally got the chance to meet for the first time.
But, after reading about a new law passed that made international virtual wedding ceremonies legal in the state of Utah, US, they decided to go ahead straight away.
Ayse and Darrin tied the knot on August 19, 2021, in an online ceremony, while their parents watched.
Cracks started to show when Ayse became suspicious Darrin might be seeing someone else a month after the wedding - when she says he became "distant", she claims.
Ayse ended the relationship in December and filed for an annulment citing "non-consummation” as the reason for the marriage ending.
However, due to Darrin being in the States and Ayse in the UK, it took over 15 months for the annulment to be finalised.
In November 2022, Ayse blocked Darrin on everything and claims she has heard nothing from him since.
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NewsTranscript
00:00 I mean, yes.
00:01 I'm Aisha and I got married to my husband,
00:08 who lives in America, over Zoom,
00:11 even though we haven't met in person yet.
00:14 We started talking 'cause I approached him,
00:16 put on my big girl pants,
00:20 and I messaged him first.
00:22 I got his information from his mum,
00:24 and then messaged him, he messaged me back,
00:28 and then kinda just went from there.
00:30 I think my first impressions were that
00:32 it was really weird because I remember when we first,
00:37 we first spoke on the phone,
00:39 and I think we both kind of expected it to be awkward
00:42 because we'd only really messaged each other
00:45 and we'd never heard each other's voices or spoke,
00:48 but it was kind of like we'd already spoke
00:51 to each other before.
00:52 It wasn't like it was the first time
00:55 that we spoke to each other,
00:57 and I think the first impression was just how easy it was
01:01 for us to talk to each other.
01:02 Like, it wasn't, there was no awkward silences.
01:05 It wasn't, like there was nothing awkward about it.
01:08 I think we realised pretty fast
01:11 that it was turning into something
01:13 more than just being friends.
01:15 I mean, I think, I mean, well, to be fair,
01:19 because it was like literally only a couple of weeks
01:22 after we first started talking where we started,
01:26 we turned it into a relationship, not just friends.
01:29 So I think it was, like it was pretty,
01:32 it just, it kind of naturally just went into that.
01:35 Like it was just, I don't know,
01:38 it was kind of just like that's what it was,
01:40 it was supposed to be from the start.
01:41 It wasn't, I don't know, it was just,
01:45 it was pretty fast that it just,
01:46 that that's just what it turned into.
01:49 Date nights, the difference,
01:51 so we have like some date nights
01:53 where we don't really do anything different.
01:57 Like we'll just be on the phone, FaceTiming,
02:00 and we'll play Fortnite or we'll watch a movie.
02:04 But we, when it's a date night,
02:06 like it doesn't matter what we're doing,
02:08 we don't answer the phone to anybody else,
02:12 like any texts or anything.
02:13 We just like just talk to each other.
02:15 Whereas other times we might get dressed up
02:19 and we'll order each other's food.
02:21 Like he'll order for me, I'll order for him,
02:24 but we don't tell each other what we're ordering.
02:27 Or sometimes we try and order the same thing
02:29 so that we're eating the same thing.
02:32 But yeah, most times they're just,
02:33 we don't really do anything mega special.
02:36 It's just, we just kind of make sure
02:39 that we're just having time for each other.
02:42 So I didn't tell my parents for a little while.
02:46 I think just because I didn't really know myself exactly,
02:52 where it was gonna go or exactly how long
02:56 it was gonna go on for.
02:59 'Cause I mean, anyone's like that
03:00 when you get into a relationship,
03:01 like you don't know how long it's gonna last for.
03:05 But then I think it was my dad,
03:08 because obviously there's like a five hour time difference.
03:10 So, 'cause obviously I still live with my parents.
03:13 So he'd walk past my room at like three o'clock
03:16 in the morning and he'd hear me on the phone.
03:18 And I think one day he just came up to me
03:20 and he was like, "So, who's this guy
03:23 "that you're on the phone to?"
03:24 Like until the early hours of the morning.
03:26 And then I told them.
03:28 And I think they were like a little bit reserved at first,
03:32 just because he's there, I'm here.
03:35 We hadn't met each other.
03:37 But then obviously the more I was on the phone to him,
03:41 the more they were talking to him as well,
03:44 because they were here.
03:45 And I think obviously the more that they got to know him
03:50 as well, they kinda were okay with it.
03:53 And like they came around 'cause they knew him.