He Promised to Meet Her at the Airport. 8 Years Later...

When comedian and writer Sashi Perera sat across from Charlie at a Melbourne bar in 2018, she braced herself for disappointment. After six weeks of dating, she was about to leave for a six-week trip across Africa, and her dating history had taught her not to expect much.

"I'm totally OK if you see other people after I leave," she told him, trying to sound casual while feeling like a slug was writhing in her stomach. His response surprised her: "I'll be at the airport when you get back."

Charlie made it simple to believe him. He encouraged her to enjoy every moment of her journey through Botswana, Kenya, and Tanzania without worrying about them.

Before leaving, Sashi hid six letters around his apartment. Every Sunday during her travels, she sent him a voice note revealing where the next letter was hidden. He'd record his reactions after reading each one, and those messages became her favorite part of the trip.

"As the weeks went by, I fell deeper in love each time his voice travelled across the Indian Ocean," Sashi recalls. Despite being an anxious person, she never felt stressed about being out of touch.

True to his word, Charlie was waiting at the airport when she landed. That certainty she felt looking at Melbourne's lights from the plane proved right. They've been together ever since.

Sunny's Take

Their journey hasn't been all romance and adventure. Moving in together right after her return was rough. They clashed over noise levels, came from completely different backgrounds, and both were stubbornly independent.

Then came the real tests: navigating a pandemic, lockdowns, family deaths, miscarriages, surgeries, and IVF, all in quick succession. "Sometimes love is wandering around the depths of hell and still feeling grateful that it's their hand you get to hold," Sashi says.

Almost eight years later, what hasn't changed is how she feels pulling into their driveway. Whether she's been away for a week doing comedy shows or just running errands, she's always impatient to walk through the door and see him.

For Sashi, that consistent excitement to share everything with Charlie is what love looks like.