How did your family reacted to you telling them you have an International partner?

[ChibiFelicia]

He just started coming up in conversation more and more, and then I went to visit him. I'm 42 though, I don't have to worry about anyone's approval, but it's very nice that they like him a lot, and support my relationship.

Like moon, he just started coming up in conversations. I then told them that he was coming to visit me and they just told me to be careful. Im not 42 (27) but i've had my own place since early 20's and the family think i have a decent enough head on my shoulders.

[Sukkerklumpen]

Aaah!! I love all the stories!!

kittyo9 and snow; I had the same thing happen. My sister would not let me live down the whole " What if he isn't who he is and is a rapist/kidnapper/serial killer? You're going to be alone in Europe and no one can help you! " I would counteract saying that we would chat on cam so I was sure it was him and he actually had earned my trust. If I didn't trust him, I wouldn't have gone to Norway by myself. Because of reactions like those both of us have kept our relationship, not really a secret but we don't broadcast it either. Only selected people whom we know won't judge and spout bullcrap, know. I mean, no one likes to have their relationship judge by someone whom has never gone through something like it.

[Sukkerklumpen]

I haven't told my mum, but I want to surprise her when we become "facebook official"". I don't think anyone on my mums side would have any problem with it. They are very laid back and would likely be very supportive, as would my siblings. I don't think I will tell my dad or stepmum and her family until I have to though; like, if we decide that I should go to her when the time comes to meet for the first time.

My SO and I decided to keep it off of FB cause it just brings up a lot of questions from other people we don't care to answer. Wish you the best luck when the time comes!

[Sukkerklumpen]

My younger sister was the first person I told about my SO, apart from my friends in Cork who knew already as they were around when we started dating! I waited a while longer to tell my mum, until the day after we became LD as we said "I love you" and I knew it was very serious. That was about 7 weeks into our relationship.

My mum was very hesitant to accept it at first. She never outright disapproved, but she didn't comment on it and didn't say anything about how she felt about it. I think she thought I'd had a whirlwind romance in Ireland and would have my heart broken, but she was always supportive of what I wanted nonetheless. The first time she expressed how she felt was when my SO booked his (ridiculously expensive!!) flight to come see me, and then she realised that this wasn't some one-sided thing! And then she met him when he came over to Canada and she absolutely adored him.

My sisters were supportive from the outset, and both thought it was quite fun that I had an Irish boy! My extended family was a bit over-supportive, they're just all hoping we get married in Cork so they can all have an excuse to go to Ireland

Neither of my parents want me to leave if the option of staying was an actual option to me. My mom is more against it than my dad. He has accepted it wholeheartedly. In one particular conversation I told my mom that it would be nice if they would visited me as well cause it is a total of a whole day traveling from PR to Norway and it is really tiring! She took it as if I had told her that I didn't want to come visit -.-

My sister, after the initial " HE COULD BE A RAPIST AND KILL YOU AND KIDNAP YOU!! " outrage she had, has finally accepted our relationship as well, lol. They actually get along very well now! About my extended family and friends, if it were for them I would be on a plane already there. They can't wait for me to settle in Norway so they have a place to crash, haha.

[Alle1770]

I actually didn't tell my parents, but rather they told me! xD I was meeting my SO for the first time in Stockholm (another city), to which I was going to with friends for a weekend anyway and we decided to meet up there, so I told my mum that I'd also be seeing a friend I'd gotten to know online through one of my other friends (this is a lie though, the only ones really knowing how we met are me and my SO and you guys (have my story posted somewhere here), because it's easier that way), and she said that it was fine as long as I kept safe.

3 days went, I got home, and then when having a talk with my mum later that evening she went "I know he's more than just a friend to you, isn't he??" with like the biggest smile ever xD So I didn't actually have to tell them, it was quite obvious Thankfully, my immediate family (parents and siblings) have taken it suprisingly well. My dad loves him because they're on the same intellectual level and he's got someone he can finally discuss mathematics and physics with, and my mum treats him like he was her son. My younger brother sees him as a bigger brother, because they are both very into videogames and sometimes play together, and my younger sister is completely crushing on my SO xD

So we're all getting along just fine, which is brilliant It might be because we're a bit of an international family (have part of my family in Australia + cousins and stuff so there's a lot of english and cultural exchange going on, my dad works abroad a lot and brings over colleagues from different countries for dinners and such, we've travelled a lot together as a family...), so new things are more exciting and fun than bad to us, plus my mum had an LDR with a guy in France when she was younger that her mother didn't approve of (my grandmother, who doesn't approve of mine either), and she stated that she didn't want to be like her because she knows how hard it is when you really love someone and your parent's won't let you be together.

We became official on FB and everything as well, and I've mostly only gotten positive reactions from people, saying it's like a true fairytale and such, and most of them find it quite interesting that I'm together with someone from a country we don't really have much to do with otherwise Of course there are always going to be negative people, like my grandmother and an aunt (who keeps saying "It's not worth it, it's not like it's going to last anyway, right?"), but all the positive feedback weighs up for that Not that I would care either way, I love him and I always will, regardless of what other people think

[Dezface]

My dad was skeptical but willing enough to meet him. He did and I know he begrudgingly likes him. Although when my sister asked him what he thought about my new " exotic" boyfriend, his only answer was "he's handsome." My sister loves him to death. She sees how well he treats me and is very supportive. she was from the beginning. No one particularly likes the fact that I'm moving but no one can disagree with the fact that Luke's a good guy

[earthbaby87]

My SO and I are still pretty new so right now everyone smiles and goes "Well yeah I'm happy for you, but realistically you know this probably won't last, right?" I don't let it get to me, all that matters is that he and I want it to work

[radioandy]

I'm not especially close to my parents, and I've always been quite private and secretive with them. I'm a very private person anyway, I don't reveal a lot unless I'm typing semi-anonymously on the internet! My private life is personal, and I don't see why it has much to do with them. Having said that, this is my second LDR and my parents haven't said much at all. They're never the most vocal of people - they're more "oh.. okay," rather than being especially supportive or condemning. I don't live with my parents, I live alone, so they haven't seen me on Skype every night or anything.

My partner's parents, on the other hand, are a different story entirely! She still lives with her parents, and they quite regularly pop in and say hi if we're on Skype together. She's told me that they think I'm really sweet and can't wait to meet me, which is just lovely. She talks about me a lot to her family and friends, which is nice. I feel like I'm already a part of their life there, before we've even met.

I love all the comments about how cool it is to be with someone from another country. I feel the same - I actually find LDRs more fun than close-distance relationships, because I really enjoy the exchange of cultures, the linguistic differences, the travel and so on.

[kacie]

I'm not especially close to my parents, and I've always been quite private and secretive with them. I'm a very private person anyway, I don't reveal a lot unless I'm typing semi-anonymously on the internet! My private life is personal, and I don't see why it has much to do with them.

My partner's parents, on the other hand, are a different story entirely! She still lives with her parents, and they quite regularly pop in and say hi if we're on Skype together. She's told me that they think I'm really sweet and can't wait to meet me, which is just lovely. She talks about me a lot to her family and friends, which is nice. I feel like I'm already a part of their life there, before we've even met.

this is a lot like me, my mum has chatted with him on gtalk a little, mainly sarcastic comments or telling him childhood nicknames, but they've barely talked, whereas with his family I've met his mum when I was over and talked to his sister and brother on skype.

[leonsfangirl]

Everyone i know knew about my SO, i said we were friends but everyone suspected there was more to it (they were right but shush dont tell them!)
When i broke the news that my "fake" relationship wasnt fake anymore and i was in a proper relationship it was taken pretty well. Had the normal questions about how it was going to work out and such but nothing negative.. atleast not to me. My Mom was alittle nervous, i met my SO on Facebook and my Mom had a few bad experiences and she didnt want the same for me. She was terrified when i told her i was going to Canada but i didnt find out till afterwards.
She has since met my SO and loves him (all the family that has met him love him.... even my bitch of a sister couldnt find a fault with him) so it's been alright.
My family have a history of distance relationships, my grandparents met through a penpal programme for troops during the war, my aunt has had some internet relationships with people all over the world and i think that makes it easier for them to except.

[Belle]

My sister had visited me in college (where my SO and I lived) and so had actually met my SO and chatted with him occasionally on MySpace after that. So by the time we started dating, they knew each other. I let her know that we were "talking talking" and that I was really interested in him and honestly, it didn't go over so well at first. That was more because of her and my SO's relationship to my ex though, not because of the distance. It was such a non issue that I can't even remember when or how I told my dad about dating him lol. I even bought a ticket to travel to sac before going home for the holidays and I can't remember how I explained where I was going or how he reacted to me visiting a boy he'd never met, in a city I'd never been to. Ill have to ask him hehe.

[gamer94]

I smile like crazy when I talk to him (always have) & my mom noticed and asked who i was talking to and i just told her that i was with guy that lives in a different state. she didn't freak out shockingly, him and my mom have actually talked on Skype before and my mom likes him a lot. That definitely went a lot better than expected honestly.

[Tooki]

My parents were a bit iffy about it, but they seem to be supportive of the relationship now.

Her dad is aware of the relationship and doesn't seem to care either way. Her brother-in-law likes it because I'm fairly similar to him. Because of me, we have a lot more meat-themed meals in the house when I'm visiting

[Karura]

I knew my SO for two years before our relationship became something more, so it wasn't so difficult to tell my mom about him since she already knew him as a friend of mine (I tell my mom everything). However, after telling her about it I later found out that she wasn't taking it as well as I'd hope and she was seriously worried I'd move to Chile and never see me again (and being an only child doesn't help). Because I live in a dorm and we're like family, soon they discovered too and didn't take it seriously going "You're sure about this?" "How do you know if he's real?" "You know this isn't going to work, right?". But recently they've come to understand how serious we are about our relationship and I've decided to visit him this coming Easter, but it hurt at first knowing nobody considered it a real relationship. My dad's on a whole other level though. He went nuts when I once told him I was talking to a friend online (it wasn't my SO by the way) and he reacted so badly and in an outrageous way that it made me mad. He threatened to disown me if I ever did a "mistake like that", going on about stories about predators and stuff which I am completely aware of. I can't even imagine what it would be like to tell my dad about my SO; I will only tell him when I must. And even then I'm not sure if I'm going to be completely honest about it... He's really the thing that most worries me in this relationship.

[Alsfia]

I think my mum new before I did that my SO and I were in a relationship We started off with 8-10 months of a "friend-period" where we kind of just were friends, and during this period he visited me. Since I'm still in upper secondary I live with my family and the nearest hotel is quite far away so naturally he stayed here, and I fell (even more) for him then and we couldn't really stay away from eachother, wich might have been a useful clue I'm still really proud of him actually daring to meet the whole lot at once concidering he's really shy, but my whole family loves him. I was a bit nervous of what they would think though since his family makes significantly more than mine, and I've also learned that everyone were really surprised about him not being a typical "rich-bitch"
I was rather worried to start with to meet his parents and I was nervous to say the least when we finally got there, but they're all really nice (I'm working on meeting all grandparents and so, we've dealt with my half but fingers crossed for Christams over there ) All in all, it went really well and I have got a lot of support especially from my mum (and a lot of yell from my friends for not telling them about him for quite a while, they all are really interested in him but few dare to speak to him ) Also, he absolutely adores Finland and Osthrobothnia, so the one most worried of me moving is my neighbour