Two Hearts United Across Continents: A Love Story of Distance and Reunion
Denise Sung's lifelong dream of meeting someone named Sebastian finally came true in Hong Kong at the age of 26 Little did they know that their love story would be put to the ultimate test when they were unexpectedly separated for two long years
As a young girl growing up in Taiwan, Denise Sung longed to meet a man named Sebastian. Her fascination began when she read William Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night," a romantic comedy featuring a character named Sebastian. The play's tale of shipwrecks, mistaken identity, and romance captured Denise's imagination, but it was the name Sebastian that truly captivated her.
"I always thought Sebastian was such a beautiful name," Denise shares with CNN Travel. "I just fell in love with it."
Surprisingly, Denise had never crossed paths with anyone named Sebastian during her teenage years and well into her 20s.
Until, aged 26, Denise Sung met Sebastian Fuchs.
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Denise had spent her adult years living in various countries, from Taiwan to the US to Australia and finally China. As a result, she had close friends scattered across the globe. In the summer of 2015, one of her friends from college in Sydney, who was getting married in Hong Kong, asked Denise to be one of her bridesmaids.
Denise always tells her friends, "We're just a plane flight away. If you need me for important events, I'm just a plane ticket away. I can always be there for you."
True to her word, Denise flew to Hong Kong for her friend's wedding. She fully embraced the festivities and, at the last minute, decided to extend her trip to the following weekend to spend more time with her friends.
After the wedding, Denise and her two friends ventured into Hong Kong's Lan Kwai Fong district one evening.
"LKF is a bustling party district," Denise explains. "You can go there any day of the week and there's always something going on - with bars, restaurants, and it's right in the heart of Hong Kong, so you can't miss it. It's where young people go, especially for a good time."
Denise and her friends played hopscotch between bars all night before finally winding up at a shisha bar.
"I couldn't tell you the name of the bar if you asked me," Denise said, chuckling. "There was just so much alcohol."
Denise and her friends huddled in a corner of the cozy shisha bar, engrossed in conversation. The space was tight, and the groups were tightly packed together, so when two guys from a neighboring table struck up a conversation with Denise and her group, it didn't come as a shock.
The men revealed they were from Germany, visiting Hong Kong for vacation. They proceeded to introduce themselves, and that's when Denise was introduced to Sebastian.
"Thats my favorite name," Denise exclaimed, without thinking.
"Its quite a popular name in Germany," said Sebastian, surprised.
"Ive literally never met anyone named Sebastian," said Denise, staring at him.
Denise and Sebastian, pictured later on, hit it off right away when they met by chance one evening.
Denise Sung
Sebastian was in the midst of pursuing his post doctoral degree in Switzerland in 2015 when he decided to go on vacation to Hong Kong with a friend from his PhD days in Frankfurt, Germany. Coincidentally, he met Denise on his 31st birthday while out at a bar celebrating with his friend. According to Sebastian, they ran into Denise and two of her friends that night.
Sebastian and his friend immediately connected with Denise and her group. They shared stories about their experiences in Hong Kong and how they had all ended up there. While Sebastians friend took the lead in the conversation, Sebastian was quieter, but Denise found him to be captivating.
"There was definitely an initial attraction," she says.
"I can say definitely Denise also made a very good first impression on me," agrees Sebastian.
But back then, Sebastian was looking, first and foremost, for "stability" in a relationship.
He immediately liked Denise, but it never crossed his mind that she would be the one to offer it to him, simply because they met so far away from home.
Denise, on the other hand, was a romantic who strongly believed that the next great love was just around the corner.
Denise adds that in her 20s, she was very social, always going out and enjoying meeting new people. However, before meeting Sebastian, she felt that she had never experienced a truly "meaningful" romantic relationship. From the very beginning, she could sense that there was something different about him.
From the moment they met, Denise felt like meeting Sebastian was fated. Neither of them had planned to be in Hong Kong that weekend, and it turned out that Sebastian and his friend had changed their plans at the last minute. Denise also found it "really cool" that they had met on Sebastian's birthday. To top it off, Sebastian and his friend were staying in the same hotel as Denise.
"Sebastian and I ended up staying at the same hotel in Hong Kong," Denise remarks, feeling as though it was more than just a coincidence.
Sebastian is a more logical thinker than Denise, but in the excitement of the evening, he acted out of character when she asked him if he wanted to smoke a cigarette. He admitted, "Until that point, I had never smoked in my life. After that point, I also never smoked a cigarette again. But at that point, for some reason, I wasn't daring to say no."
Keeping in touch
Sebastian and Denise stayed in touch after that first meeting.
Denise Sung
Sebastian and Denise departed Hong Kong with each other's contact information, but without any set plans to reunite. Despite not making a deliberate effort, they unconsciously kept in touch, as Denise puts it, "just constantly texting and talking to each other."
It took an entire year before Denise and Sebastian crossed paths once more. In the summer of 2016, Denise and a friend arranged a trip to Europe, with plans to visit various locations. It was then that Sebastian casually mentioned he would be in Germany at the same time, prompting Denise to add Frankfurt to her travel plans.
Although Denise was typically sociable, her proactive decision to include Sebastian in her trip was uncharacteristic, particularly in matters of romance.
"In my early 20s, I was constantly afraid of stepping out of my comfort zone, overthinking everything. I wasn't confident in myself and always concerned about others' opinions," she recalls.
"By my mid-20s, my mindset had completely changed. I thought, What do I have to lose? I'm interested in getting to know this guy. That's when I decided to visit Frankfurt."
Denise and Sebastian reunited in Frankfurt, then traveled to Munich. They also visited Sebastians hometown, where Denise met Sebastians sister.
Spending time together in Germany felt easy and fun.
Denise appreciated Sebastian's honesty and sincerity. On the other hand, Sebastian loved sharing his home country with Denise, and her visit to Germany made their bond feel even more genuine.
"It was definitely very exciting to meet her again, after that vacation setting, now in my real day to day life," he says.
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Committing to each other
Denise and Sebastian were sure they wanted to be together, but Sebastian was worried about the long distance at first.
Denise Sung
Sebastian visited Denise in California in the summer of 2017. It was during this visit that Denise expressed her commitment to making their long-distance relationship work long-term. Sebastian had reservations, as he was uncertain about the success of such relationships.
Denise struggled to understand this mindset.
"I told my Grandma about you," she said. "And now youre saying this is not going anywhere? You need to make a decision."
Sebastian was hesitant about being with anyone else, concerned about the challenges of dating across continents with no clear resolution. However, Denise assured him that they could make it work.
"Maybe it's because of my upbringing, but I've always found myself in a different country, away from someone," Denise expressed. "But I truly believe that if you find the right person, someone who is meaningful to you, everything else will fall into place eventually."
Denise's confidence had a calming effect on Sebastian's doubts. He agreed that he also wanted to make their relationship work. In hindsight, Denise is proud of how she handled that pivotal moment.
"As a proud feminist, I believe that in this day and age, there's no reason for men to always take the lead," she explains. "I was confident that he had feelings for me. Otherwise, he would be dating someone else, but I know that he wasn't. So, I know this is serious, he's serious - he's just unsure how it will all work out."
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Denise and Sebastian made a pact to prioritize regular scheduled meetups, ensuring that they would see each other at least every two months. Their commitment led to frequent gatherings across the globe, deepening their bond with each encounter.
Denise mentioned, "We both enjoy traveling and would choose a city to explore together. I became skilled at earning airline points to make our trips more affordable." Sebastian's job made the distance easier with his ample vacation days and work opportunities in the US.
"These circumstances helped us to see each other quite a lot, which some people might not be able to," he explains.
Still, both Sebastian and Denise had friends who balked at the situation.
Denise remembers, "I'd hear, 'How is that a real relationship if you don't live together?' But it's just people's perspectives. For someone who has never been in a long-distance relationship, they are used to having another person with them 24/7, and they think that's what a relationship should be like."
However, Denise and Sebastian were, as she explains, "making their own rules." Both of them are strong-willed and have a strong sense of self, which they brought to their partnership.
Sebastian expresses, "I've always felt the desire to carve my own path and make decisions that are best for me."
Denise reflects, "I prioritize my own well-being and happiness in every decision I make, mentally and physically."
During this time, Sebastian and Denise advanced in their careers and achieved success, crediting some of it to each other's support.
Her flight got canceled, and she found herself on the doorstep of her future wife.
Unexpected separation
Denise and Sebastian got into a pattern of meeting up across the globe.
Denise Sung
Denise and Sebastian made a significant move in 2019 by having Denise introduce Sebastian to her parents. Denise describes her family as traditional and conservative, specifically mentioning her Taiwanese Chinese background. She noted that her parents adhere to traditional cultural values, including the expectation that she only introduce them to someone she is ready to marry.
When Denise's parents met Sebastian, they instantly adored him. This meeting took place in late 2019, and the couple decided to extend their stay in Asia until 2020 to celebrate Lunar New Year in late January. It was during this period that Denise and Sebastian first learned about the pandemic. However, when they parted ways in January and returned to their respective homes, they assumed they would be able to reunite in the US in March, as originally planned.
But just before Sebastians departure date, the US borders closed.
"He had to cancel his flights. And thats when we didnt know when we were going to see each other next," says Denise.
Suddenly, the "only a plane ticket away" attitude Denise had grown up with crumbled around her.
"That was the biggest challenge - because this is out of your control," she says.
During the months of separation, Denise couldn't help but think about her grandparents who had left China during the Chinese civil war and moved to Taiwan.
"They couldn't go back to China to visit relatives and family for about 15 years," Denise reflected. "I remember hearing about this as a kid and asking my mom, 'How is that possible?'"
Denise realized for the first time that being able to travel across the world to see Sebastian was not a guarantee, despite the unique circumstances. "It really emphasizes how privileged we are to travel - we never saw it that way before," she reflected.
Throughout the worldwide spread of the pandemic and subsequent border closures, Denise and Sebastian actively maintained communication through video calls and messaging. As their conversations progressed, the topic of marriage became a significant point of discussion.
Before 2020, Denise had never seriously considered marriage. However, the combination of longing for Sebastian and the realization that marriage would facilitate their reunion prompted her to entertain the idea of marriage for the first time.
Denise and Sebastian endured a nearly two-year separation, experiencing a rollercoaster of emotions from sadness and anger to frustration and relief. Despite their gratitude for their health and stable jobs, they couldn't ignore the stories of other international couples in more dire situations. While they counted their blessings, the uncertainty of their future and the pain of being apart continued to weigh heavily on them.
Denise found solace in adopting a rescue dog, a decision she considers the best she's ever made. Meeting new friends at the dog park, they teased that Sebastian could have been a figment of her imagination since they had never met him.
Meanwhile, Sebastian dedicated much of his time and energy to work. In his free time, he played basketball with local friends, finding a temporary distraction from missing Denise.
"Finding ways to cope really helped, but I couldn't wait to see Denise," Sebastian recalls. "We did everything we could."
Finally, in late 2021, Sebastian and Denise were reunited in Mexico.
Sebastian expressed, "Seeing Denise again was such a huge relief."
They were both thrilled to see each other again, and Denise mentioned that their reunion wasn't as dramatic as expected. Instead, it felt like no time had passed, and they effortlessly fell back into their normal dynamic.
Denise expressed, "I consistently feel at ease and fulfilled with him. There's no roller-coaster of emotions. I just feel so satisfied with this guy, and I feel a sense of belonging when I'm with him. It's crucial to me because I left home at a young age, but with him, I feel like this is where I belong."
Sebastian proposed to Denise in Mexico as they sat on a cabana by the beach, and he turned to Denise.
"He expressed his desire to spend the rest of his life with her," he mentioned. The couple were eager to marry quickly, but they also wanted their loved ones to be present for the celebration. They realized they would have to wait because Denise's parents live in China, where travel restrictions were only lifted in August due to the pandemic.
After the uncertainty of Covid-related travel subsided, Denise and Sebastian were able to set their wedding date for spring 2024 at the turreted Schlosshotel Kronberg, located on the outskirts of Frankfurt. They are eagerly anticipating the opportunity to celebrate with family and friends from around the world. Denise is especially looking forward to introducing her loved ones to Germany.
"I wanted to use this opportunity to show them the country I will soon call second home," she says.
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Looking to the future
Today, Denise and Sebastian are planning their upcoming wedding.
Denise Sung
Denise and Sebastian are unsure of what the future holds or where they will eventually live, but they are enthusiastic about the possibilities.
"I want to choose a location that is diverse," Denise says. "I want my children to be able to understand and appreciate all of their different cultures - American, German, and Chinese - fluently."
Denise and Sebastian share a mutual joy in exploring each other's cultural backgrounds. While they have faced significant differences in perspective over the years, they have always addressed these moments with an open mind and genuine curiosity.
"We may have different approaches, but I believe there's always something to learn from each other and to understand," Denise explains. "We both have a deep respect for each other's culture and are equally eager to learn and understand more about it."
"That's something that really brings us together and is a shared trait," Sebastian concurs. "Cultural differences have never been something that discourages me; it's something that actually entices me."
It's been eight years since Sebastian and Denise first met in a bar in Hong Kong. These days, Sebastian finds himself more focused on the future than dwelling on the past.
"He says he's not focusing on the unlikeliness of our meeting, just happy it happened and excited for our future together," Denise shares, also feeling that it was meant to be.
"I believe in the energy of the universe," Denise explains. "In Chinese, there's a word - yuánfèn - which essentially means fate. We often use that word when you see people from completely different parts of the world coming together."
"He's from Frankfurt and I grew up in the countryside in Taiwan. We were in different countries, and yet we met in a third country that neither of us expected to be in at that place, at that time. You start to wonder. You question, if it's not fate, what is it? And as it turns out, he also happens to have my favorite boy's name. Maybe I knew all along that I was going to marry Sebastian."
