Love Is in the Air This Valentine’s Day! How to Make Your Relationship Thrive on the Road

You’ve heard the story before. Boy meets girl. (In the movie version, they annoy each other at first.) An obstacle is thrown at them. They overcome it and live happily ever after.

We’ve heard that because travel nurses are constantly moving around, some people don’t think this brand of clichéd romance is possible. But two couples, Seidda and Kurtis, Diana and Dale, are here to tell you that it absolutely is.

The meet cute

Seidda met a great guy online in 2014. She knew Kurtis was a winner when he took her to Des Moines’ Bacon Fest on their first date! With everything from bacon cupcakes to bacon tacos, it’s one of the larger, more popular events in the area.

Diana and Dale were both enrolled in nursing school at Purdue when they first met in 2010. But they didn’t officially start dating until 6 years later, when they worked together at an Indiana hospital. Not even a massive snowstorm could stop their love. Dale picked Diana up for their first official date, took her to Walmart, bought snow pants, they went sledding and the rest is history.

The moment of truth

While Seidda and Kurtis were getting to know each other, Seidda received travel nursing job offers left and right. Unfortunately, Kurtis couldn’t accompany her on her first assignment in San Diego since they had just committed to a year lease at the time in Des Moines.

Seidda knew that the distance between them would test their relationship, but she had a feeling everything would be just fine if they kept in contact every day. She was right. Kurtis discovered he could take his career as a welder on the road with Seidda, so he made plans to do just that.

Dale started traveling in 2014, bouncing around from place to place before he landed in Indiana with Diana.  It only took him a month. Everything just felt right because Diana immediately noticed something different about her relationship with Dale. In the past, she’d always found herself wanting space and needing breaks from people, but she loved being around Dale and couldn’t imagine being away from him.  She tells us, “that’s how I knew he was the one!”

The sappy stuff

Seidda was impressed by Kurtis’ charming, outgoing personality and slowly but surely, he swept her off her feet! After she finished up her travel nursing contract in San Diego, she got another great offer in Washington D.C. Kurtis joined her for the 16-hour drive so she wouldn’t be alone. It was then Seidda realized, “we really cannot be away from each other, we love each other, we need each other.”

Dale has also gone above and beyond for Diana, especially when he proposed in the most romantic way! They’d discussed getting married, but when he popped the question, Dale took Diana completely by surprise.

He set up his camera, ostensibly “to film some sunset footage” at the end of a hike. They usually only use the camera for photos, so when Dale struggled to get the video running Diana started to get impatient. She urged, “just take a photo like we always do!” but when she turned to Dale, he was down on one knee! She jokes, “he’s a super romantic person who tries to hide it but doesn’t hide it well.”

The happily ever after

After Seidda finished up that D.C. contract, she and Kurtis decided it was finally time he joined her. Kurtis now travels with Seidda and he hasn’t had any issues finding work along the way. “It’s kinda like travel nursing, he goes in, shows that he can weld and then he gets hired,” Seidda explains. Traveling has opened some pretty cool career opportunities for Kurtis – like welding for Rihanna’s show in Vegas!

It’s been smooth sailing for Dianna and Dale, as well. They got married in Littleton, CO and plan to keep traveling before they settle down. They’ve always opted for more outdoorsy areas rather than big cities and would love to go back to Reno, where they spent last summer. Proximity to Lake Tahoe was a big bonus on that assignment, inspiring them to continue choosing beautiful locations. They’re hoping to book travel nursing contracts in both Alaska and Hawaii in the very near future.

The lesson learned

These two amazing couples hope to motivate others to venture outside their comfort zone and travel. Neither finding love, nor the fear of not finding it, need hold anyone back. When you’re a travel nurse, anything is possible.

Whether your significant other is a fellow nurse, has another career or you support him or her (why not?! Travel nurses make mad dough) …why wait? In the immortal words of Harry Burns in When Harry Met Sally, “When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with someone, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.”