Have you ever met a person and instantly clicked, only to find they live on the other side of the world?
Newlywed couple Anastasia and Dimitri Markakis know all about long-distance love, the joys, excitement, sacrifices, struggles, and making it work after 10 years together.
The couple’s story began in September 2013 when Anastasia left Athens, Greece to study in Australia.
Dimitri’s grandmother suggested he take Anastasia out, as she worked with Anastasia’s theia, and this led to their first date at Max Brenner.
“I remember my yiayia was like ‘you’re single, take her out, why not? You never know, something might happen’,” Dimitri tells The Greek Herald.
“I ended up agreeing and asked her to go out for a coffee – we went to Max Brenner for hot chocolates and hung out for hours.”
Anastasia had the intention to study in Australia, but she was on a tourist visa.
“In order to get my student visa, I had to start studying, this meant I had to have an advanced level of English,” she says.
“It was suggested I stay six months in Australia, but my theia suggested ‘do it for a year to just make sure that you know your English well enough to be able to go to uni and understand everything’.”
The 29-year-old ended up enrolling in a 9-month course at Canberra Institute of Technology (CIT), which cost her $10,000. Anastasia found it challenging to pay her fees upfront as she was an international student, but was offered a payment plan for the first six months. She then switched to a nursing course for 18 months.
“I was told if I did a diploma of nursing, I would find work straight away, which would help me pay my expenses,” Anastasia says.
A year later, in July 2014, Anastasia told Dimitri she would return to Greece. She said Canberra wasn’t the place for her as she didn’t have friends, was away from her family and all she did was work and study.
“Dimitri then said, ‘I really like you and I think this will work between us’ – that we should give it a go basically,” Anastasia says.
On her return to Greece, the couple would call each other every day for two-months straight.
“It was a little bit difficult due to our time difference and routines, but we made it work,” Dimitri explains. “I then thought, a good way to keep her here and not forget about me was to make us ‘Facebook official’.”
This didn’t make it any easier for Anastasia to tell her family she was moving to Australia for good.
“When I got home, I tried to tell my dad I wanted to go back for study, but he wasn’t happy,” Anastasia says.
“I told my mum I’d go regardless. I said, ‘it’s either Dimitri pays for my ticket, or you help me’… my mum ended up giving me the money and we told my dad that Dimitri paid.
“When it was time to leave, my dad didn’t come to the airport.”
When Anastasia returned to Australia, Dimitri’s dad called her family to explain where she would stay.
“My dad had called Ana’s family to say, ‘she’s going to stay with the yiayia, we’re good people and we will look after her’,” Dimitri says.
“Six months later, we got our own place, and when Ana told her dad… he didn’t talk to her for almost eight months.”
Eventually, Anastasia’s dad had a change of heart.
“It was really difficult being only 19 with so many changes happening at once,” Anastasia says.
“I was really lucky because when my dad came around, my parents supported me financially as they saw I was happy.”
In 2018, after four years together, Anastasia and Dimitri booked a trip to Greece.
“It had been a while since Ana had seen her family, so we decided to take a trip so that I could show her things were progressing with us and I wasn’t wasting time,” Dimitri said.
“Little did she know, I planned on proposing to her. Ana’s sister, Liza, ended up helping me. She took me to see Ana’s dad who was in hospital at the time so I could ask for his blessing.”
The couple got engaged on the Greek island of Zakynthos in July 2018.
After many years, and thousands of dollars in visas and student loans, Anastasia finally became an Australian citizen in October 2020. Their sons, Alex and Ares, were also born during the COVID-19 lockdown.
The newlywed couple planned to tie the knot in Greece in 2020, but COVID-19 forced them to postpone. They officially got married on 16 September 2023 in Canberra.
Although their 10-year journey together wasn’t easy, the couple wouldn’t have it any other way.
“The best advice I can give is always give 100%. You both need to be on the same page and have good, clear communication,” Dimitri says.
“Being able to adapt and have resilience is also important,” Anastasia concludes.
