Online word game spells out L-O-V-E for transatlantic couple

Rose DeMay wasn’t looking for romance. But an online word game laid the groundwork for an unlikely friendship with a gentleman in Australia which, over time, developed into a second chance at love.

Today, she wears a shiny new engagement ring given to her by Don Pritchard, who hails from Nambour, part of the Sunshine Coast Region in Queensland, Australia. At the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve, while visiting her in Huntley, Don asked Rose to marry him.

“He loves to tell the joke that he asked me in 2021 and I answered ‘yes’ in 2022,” says DeMay.

This friendship-turned-romance started back in 2017, when DeMay, now 75, was settling into a new routine after her husband died the previous year. She was content living in Sun City, fully embracing her role as grandmother and a great-grandmother. From time to time, she enjoyed playing Words with Friends, a Scrabble-like online word game that matches players randomly and allows competitors to send text messages back and forth.

Rose was randomly matched to play Don, who, like Rose, was adjusting to life after the death of his wife a few years before. In case you’re wondering, the two are pretty competitive, when they face off on Words with Friends, but it isn’t cutthroat. When they began, Rose concedes that Don was the better player; over time, she’s learned a great deal of technique from him, and now she says she can play him on “pretty much an even keel.”

It started off slowly, one of them offering a “good game!” in the chat area of the game, or the other exclaiming “brilliant!” in praise of a well-played word. It wasn’t until Don asked Rose about her screen name, a nickname given to her by her grandson, that the two began sharing more about themselves.

“He was so polite and so genuine. We got to know each other very slowly over a long period of time,” remembers DeMay. They talked about their families, then moved on to asking questions about the differences between his place in Australia and hers in the U.S.

“The more we texted, the more we kept finding out what we had in common,” says DeMay. “It grew into a wonderful friendship.”

But just when the two started talking about finally arranging a visit so they could meet in person, Don had a health scare and required medical treatment. His trip was delayed until he could get clearance from his doctor. By the time his doctor gave him a clean bill of health, it was April 2020, just as COVID was taking hold; Don assured Rose he would be on his way in “a couple of months” once COVID passed. “We all know what happened next…” says Rose.

During the shutdown, throughout most of 2020 and 2021, Rose and Don continued their daily word games, and graduated to calling each other daily over WhatsApp, so they could converse as they played. Their long-distance companionship was a bright spot during an otherwise difficult time. The more the two talked, the closer they grew. “More in love—or ‘smitten’ as Don would call it,” says Rose.

Finally, Don stepped off a plane in O’Hare in early December of 2021. It was the first time the two had been in the same locale, yet Rose felt like she was reuniting with an old friend.

“It was more like he came home from a fishing trip, instead of meeting him for the first time,” says Rose. “We already knew almost everything you could possibly know about a person.”

Now that Don has returned to Australia after a 7-week visit in Illinois — the length of time his travel visa allowed — the two must wait 6-9 months while Don and Rose complete the paperwork (and for him, a live interview in Sydney at the consulate) for a Fiancé Visa so the couple can get married and live together in the U.S.

During his visit, Don experienced snow for the first time. In a moment of joy, he made a snow angel in freshly fallen snow in Rose’s yard. Unfortunately, time didn’t allow for a snowball fight, something he promised Rose’s great-grandchildren.

“Next year,” says Rose.

Even though the couple waited five years before they could meet, the next several months could be the longest yet. “You get used to having someone around, and then you have them yanked away from you,” says Rose. “My place feels so empty now, it’s unbelievable.”

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