The Couple
Question
About Us
Answer
We are a transatlantic love story! Shaun being from the Channel Island of Guernsey and now living in London and Mason being from Louisiana and living in Louisiana but always on the road with his job. When we met 3 years ago, we were unsure what an international relationship would look like, but from the moment we decided to dedicate ourselves to each other we haven’t looked back. There’s been many flights, hours of facetimes, and lots of “we’re only 3 Real Housewives episodes away from seeing each other” (we counted our weeks apart in Real Housewives episodes). We have shows that we have agreed we can watch apart and ones we must watch together!
Question
How and when did you meet?
Answer
We matched on hinge! Mason: Shaun’s profile’s answers were pretty short, but that intrigued me. He mentioned dogs a couple of times which was cute, and was adventurous (and stylish!) with a photo of him on top of a snowy mountain in an orange ski fit. I must’ve really liked this photo, because looking back it was the screenshot I sent my girlies! Shaun: I was very interested in Mason as I was just getting into tennis and Mason’s profile was “tennis core”.
Question
Tell us a little about that first time you met and what was the first thing you noticed about each other?
Answer
Mason: We had our first date in Wimbledon Common, not too far from where Shaun was living. We grabbed and iced coffee and walked around the common for a while before heading back to a pub to watch some tennis. It was the perfect first date for personalities – I was quite nervous with every person I saw that could be Shaun and Shaun was very relaxed with flip flops on and a tennis racket bag. From the moment I met Shaun and we had our iced coffee in hand, I knew it was something special. I did ask where he thought I was from with my accent and he said Canada! It did have to end, however, as Shaun did have an exit plan. You’d think Shaun having an exit plan for our first date would throw me off, but he had tennis to play that same afternoon! Shaun: I noticed Mason’s cute linen outfit (maybe a button or two unbuttoned) and being caught off guard by Mason’s accent. More importantly, I noticed how easy and comfortable our conversations felt. He also knew what Guernsey was! I regretted having an exit plan because I wanted to stay with Mason.
Question
How were things after your first meeting?
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Mason: I was only in London for about 3 more weeks. During those 3 weeks we pretty much spent every day together! I’ve since learned Shaun is not the biggest fan of long bus journeys, which makes those few weeks mean even more as there were a few long bus journeys to get to me. He really wanted to see me!! I also learned how great a cook Shaun was. He made some amazing dinners for me and catered to all my allergen needs. Cooking for me is Shaun’s love language! Our first week together, I also took Shaun to the Eastbourne tennis tournament. This was about an hour train ride from London and we’d be spending all day together and meeting some of my colleagues. I was so excited for this day and will always cherish it! We will be spending our 4th Eastbourne together this year 😊 Shaun: It was great! I got to see my first tennis tournament in-person at Eastbourne. We just had a great time together those 3 weeks. It was summer and the vibes were good! Sadly, Mason had to leave for 3 straight weeks of tournaments… He extended his UK trip after this and we went on our first trip together to the Cotswolds! After this trip, we were officially boyfriends. Then Mason had to leave for America.. But he kept coming back!
Question
Tell us about the standout moments in your relationship…
Answer
Mason: Our first week together, my first time coming from America to visit Shaun, Shaun’s first time in Louisiana and meeting my family and friends, going to Guernsey and meeting Shaun’s family and friends for the first time, all the flights we both take to visit each other, and all of the FaceTime calls in between! Shaun: Exploring new places together, visiting each other’s family and friends and seeing where each of us were from, Mason helping me move flats, winning the cube game, spending quality time with some of Mason’s family on my first Trapen family trip.
Question
Who proposed and how?
Answer
Mason: We had gone ring shopping together, so we both knew a proposal was coming soon… I was the one to pickup the rings so I had all the power! Shaun was away from the flat for a few hours, so I went to the store to make the flat all pretty and was able to surprise him when he got back to the flat. It was a simple but special way to get engaged! My friend Amanda came into town about 5mins after we got engaged and we spent the night with her celebrating over some wine! Shaun: He got to it first! I was very surprised to find that Mason did not waste a single second before proposing after he had deceived me. When I walked up to the flat, I thought that the decorations I could see from the window was Mason surprising Amanda. But when I came into the flat and saw candles and lights, I knew a proposal was in store. I said “yes”!
Question
What are you looking forward to most for your wedding day?
Answer
Mason: I am looking forward to marrying the love of my life! In addition, I am really looking forward to all our closest friends and families being together at once for a weekend of celebrations. This will be the first time many of our friends and families will meet, so we are really looking forward to that. And showing the out of towners New Orleans! Shaun: Seeing our vision boards come to reality! I’m very keen to see all our nearest and dearest having a great time and in some cases being introduced. It is going to be the event of the season!