Covid: Lovers spend pandemic at opposite ends of the earth

Paula Reynolds with Roberto Fiorillo took this photo the day before she flew back to the UK in March 2020

"It was heart-breaking. All our hopes and dreams seemed over."

When Paula Reynolds landed back in Wales from Australia in March 2020, after meeting by chance the man she hopes to marry, the world still seemed normal.

The grandmother-of-three had met Roberto Fiorillo online while visiting her daughter in Perth - and planned to return as soon as she could renew her visa.

But just weeks after touching down, the coronavirus pandemic struck and Paula and Roberto were plunged into the travails of a love affair separated by 10,000 miles.

"We were planning a joint 50th party, an engagement party and he was going to meet my family in Wales," Paula, who lives in Caerphilly, continued.

"It was just crushing. It was hard to have a conversation some days because I'd get upset. It took us a while to pull ourselves together and refocus and do what we're going to do."

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Paula had thought getting the visa sorted out would be her biggest problem, along with making sure she had the cash to buy the return flight.

But travelling on a tourist visa was banned when Australia tightened its borders to try and control the spread of Covid-19.

This scuppered her original plan of getting a family tourist visa and then applying for an onshore partner visa last June - which was when she initially anticipated she would be able to return to Australia.

But lockdown forced her to apply for an offshore partner visa - which can take up to two years to be granted.

Paula applied and held her breath, not expecting to get approval for at least a year.

But she was amazed to discover that one had been granted on 1 December. This was a permanent visa which would allow her to claim citizenship after two years.

Paula Reynolds face timing Roberto Fiorillo from her home in Caerphilly

Over the moon, Paula booked a one-way flight to Melbourne from Heathrow leaving on 23 January, for £1,895, the next day.

She handed in her notice at B&M Bargains where she had been working in Blackwood, packed her bags and was isolating when Australia's travel restrictions were tightened after Christmas.

The country had now reduced the cap on the number of people it was letting in.

Singapore Airlines reduced the number of tickets for the flight the mother-of-two was was due to travel on and Paula was devastated to discovered that her ticket had been cancelled "without explanation".

She was able to get her money back but, with fewer people able to travel, the price of flights surged.

Paula said that before the pandemic she had no issue sourcing return flights to Australia for £700.

But suddenly, the only flight she could find in February cost £5,000, she said.

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A flight on 14 March cost marginally less at £3,720. And knowing how quickly they were selling, Paula immediately maxed out her credit card to book it.

She will also have to pay $3,000AUS (£1,717) to quarantine for 14 days when she arrives.

Knowing how much she was struggling, her colleagues at B&M created a GoFundMe page. It has already raised £1,000 meaning that Paula can leave the country "debt free".

She will also be able to pay her quarantine fee in instalments and get a job with her visa - which she plans to do "straight away".

Despite now having her ticket and visa, Paula knows her ticket could be removed "at any moment" if Covid restrictions lead to a reduction in the number of people Australia is letting in.

"I am absolutely overwhelmed with the response of human beings across south Wales who have given money to a stranger. Through all of this there is still humanity," she said.

"My boss Chanice Lack has been amazing. I've got two pay cheques before I leave and, with the money raised, I'll definitely leave the country debt free.

"My partner and I can pay the $3,000 off in instalments. Hopefully I'll have a job in Australia within a month so I can pay it off."

A spokeswoman for Singapore Airlines apologised for "any distress that the cancellation will have caused".

She said it was "beyond Singapore Airlines' control" when Paula's seat was cancelled due to restrictions preventing UK residents "transiting through Singapore unless they are booked on a same-plane service (where transit customers do not disembark during the stop in Singapore)".

A voicemail was left for Paula when airline staff called to advise her of the situation and support is being offered to her, the spokeswoman added.