Recently updated on February 24th, 2025 at 11:14 am
Some love stories feel like they’re meant to be. For Andy and Cris it seems that the stars aligned in a serendipitous way – a real life love story love somehow destined to unfold, no matter the miles between their two hearts.
How did Cris, a lawyer and mother from Cartagena, Colombia, meet Andy, an American investor (who never imagined his soulmate would be from another continent!). Against all odds, they found each other – proving that love knows no borders.
Today they live together in Tampa, Florida, but when our Travel Director found out they were celebrating their anniversary on Trafalgar’s 14-day European Whirl, we pulled some strings to add a new chapter to their real-life love story…
The perfect anniversary surprise in Paris
Trafalgar planned a special surprise that would take their breath away – a romantic evening in Paris, the City of Love. We organized a private boat adorned with roses, macarons and champagne, and they spent the evening drifting along the Seine, being serenaded by a violinist as scenes of Paris and the Eiffel Tower floated by
Better yet, Santiago the violinist was also from Colombia. To his set list, he added a few familiar Colombian tunes that transported Cris home. Every detail was perfect, with the Eiffel Tower sparkling in the distance. This was a moment we know they will cherish forever!
Discover the real-life love story of Andy & Cris
But we’re getting ahead of ourselves… Read on to discover how this couple found love later in life
How did your love story begin?
Cris: I think we were at a point in our lives. Both of us had a previous marriage, and neither of us were looking for anybody. But one day, his sister-in-law – who happened to be a colleague of mine from the United States – was travelling to Colombia.
She told me ‘I need you to meet my brother-in-law’. I told her no, don’t give him my phone number, just my email. He started sending me an email every day, and then I would respond the next day. Finally, after six months, he told me: I’m going to go to Cartagena to meet you.
I never thought that in the 20th century, you could meet someone, you know, through letters.
I’m a romantic. I love to write. I love to read books and like being able to have a story like this and meeting like my soul mate because I’ve always said Andy is like the male version of myself.
How long ago was this?
Cris: Everything starts in 2014. So 10 years ago now – February 17th, the day that he sent the first email, is, like, an “anniversary”.
Andy: It’s the most important day to me, because that’s when we started connecting. And she has a different view of that!
Cris: He travelled to Colombia in July of 2014. And I remember he arrived the day of the FIFA World Cup was going on and Colombia was playing against Brazil and my family just received him like a brother.
ANOTHER REAL-LIFE LOVE STORY: ‘The most magical moment of our lives’ – Craig’s surprise proposal in Paris
A serendipitous move to the United States united two hearts
Cris: At that point, he was living in the United States and I was living in Colombia. We both had a very good life, good jobs and everything. But in August my boss called me one day and told me, ‘I need you to move to the United States’. And this was not in my plans.
Six months later, I was living in Texas. We continued dating. He was in Tampa, and as another big coincidence – his company has an office in Dallas, Texas where I was living. He was able to work two weeks in Dallas, two weeks in Tampa.
Then finally, on November 25, 2016 we got married in Pure Water in Florida. It was a small wedding with just our kids, I have three daughters, he has two sons. We decided we want the start to be just us.
Did you expect to find love a second time later in life?
Andy: It’s been an incredible gift, as I often think of it. I couldn’t be happier.
Cris: At our age I discovered that love is not about controlling your partner or the other person, but helping the other person to get the best out of themselves.
I never thought I was going to find that like a real partner. Someone that was not there to tell me what to do, when to do it. Since the very beginning, he was like, you’re like a butterfly, keep flying. And I never thought I was going to find that.
Andy: She has a beautiful way with honesty. I think in relationships it’s very important to be honest with each other and to self-correct at times. And you can do that in a harsh way, or you can do that in a beautiful way – and she has a beautiful way of being honest … so we can kep improving.
Cris: For me, Andy is the most calm person like from inside. He’s so strong inside that he doesn’t need to explode. He doesn’t need to yell. He has the ability to analyse and understand every situation in life with such calmness. I love that of him.
Please select a post.He also has a wonderful way with my daughters. When we got married, his two sons were already in college and working…but two of my daughters were still living with me, so he got to spend more time with them. They admired him so much, and [they would] have these deep conversations.
Maybe one of the reasons I didn’t want to find somebody else was because I had three daughters and I wanted that for me. It was sacred raising them, but I found the best partner to help me continue raising them.
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How has Trafalgar’s European Whirl tour been so far?
Andy: It has been amazing. There’s no headaches – we are able just to have a great, focused time together [while] all of the coordination, all of the planning, etc is all done.
There was a special [boat] trip in Lucerne, and the Alps were in the background. It was actually scheduled for the following day when it was supposed to rain and our guide was amazing, She was able to shift the boat to the current day when it was beautiful and sunny. I’ll never forget that boat trip and I felt so connected to Cris when we were just seeing these stunning views. It was very special.
Cris: With Trafalgar, as Andy mentioned, we don’t even have to worry about our suitcases – so we can focus on ourselves, that’s for sure. Celebrating this here in Paris today is definitely a gift from God. This is the best anniversary anyone could have.
Other romantic Trafalgar stories we fell in love with
“I just wanted to ask Tina and not mess it up!” – how this Trafalgar proposal video hit thousands of views.
“We got married at a surprise wedding on our Trafalgar tour” – when the Travel Director becomes a wedding planner, and a fellow guest studies to be a celebrant overnight!
Do you have a special real-life love story you’d like to share with Trafalgar? Leave us a comment…