International mud lovers plan big life change together

An international mud lover’s hopes of being reunited with her muddy matched dairy farming British boyfriend in Staffordshire have been dashed; first by work, then COVID and now Brexit.

And the new plan of action, to allow the countryside connection to fully bloom, is a life changing one for a farmer entrenched in the British countryside

Laura, a German born countryside photographer and horse fan, who joined Muddy Matches in 2016 whilst working in Ireland, met farmer Lewis after she took the lead and winked at him, thinking him ‘a belter, and most handsome’.

Living in Düsseldorf at the time, she had hoped to up sticks and move in with her muddy match in the Staffordshire hills, after making the ultimate long distance rural relationship work for over 3 years amid a global pandemic.

Laura was fresh back from another 1,100-mile round trip from England to see Lewis when she updated us. Their first date saw Lewis leave his herd and fly to Germany for the weekend.

“It has been difficult. We were messaging and video calling from where we first got in touch with other’ Laura tells us. 

“The original plan was me moving to the UK but, unfortunately, there is no way to come over for me and work in the UK because of the Brexit restrictions and the rules that must be followed like a sponsored visa or minimum salary.

“So, Lewis has therefore taken the decision to come and live with me in Germany now,” Laura updates us. “It’s easier over here to get settled and find a job which doesn’t need to follow any rules.”

It is a massive lifestyle and location switch for Lewis who originally started country-life dating with Muddy Matches with the hopes of unearthing ‘someone local’ to his rural home in Staffordshire.

Laura clearly laid bare the fact that she was ‘currently living in Germany’ and Lewis’ idea of ‘local’ suddenly stretched by a good 900 miles (or 1,400 kilometres if you are of European persuasion).

He was keen to meet someone who shared his interests of shooting, walking, farming and game fairs.

“I never thought I would meet such a great girl from another country,” Lewis adds. “That is all thanks to Muddy Matches. It just goes to show that Muddy Matches is not just for dating in the UK. Thanks for helping me find her.”

We can’t imagine transporting his life over 600 miles over international borders was originally on the agenda; but people make big life changing decisions in the name of love.

When their relationship became an official thing back in October 2020, Laura initially told us that she ‘didn’t expect anything too serious to develop.’

How times have changed.