Our story started in 2019, the year we met:

RIXT – I was living in Schänis, a small village in Switzerland. I just graduated with my Master’s in civil engineering, as a hydraulic engineer, and started working for a small Engineering company in Uznach (Switzerland). At this time, I was doing great and not at all looking for a boyfriend. But in the mornings right before work, waiting for the train to arrive, a couple of minutes of boredom always set in and I decided to retry Tinder. Not to find someone though. So, I set my conditions very high. No text with the pictures? Was already a definite no-go. When the text said cliché things like, “passion for traveling” and other things like that, was the second definite no-go. Then of course the pictures. Logically the eye wants something too, and the kind of pictures that are uploaded says a lot about this person. And last but not least: I would not be the one to start talking. You might ask”: why then even go on Tinder?” Well, that is a good question indeed. I think in retrospect subconsciously I did want to find someone after all. But at this moment it seemed to be working really well. After a month or so I still only had two matches, and they were not talking. Yee for me. But then I matched with Sébastien, and he actually did start talking. I was so not happy. But his text was just too perfect, I could not ignore him. So, we ended up talking a lot and after two weeks we went on our first date and a week later a second date, and a week later we were already exclusive. When you know, you know, I always like to say. And that is how “us” started for me.

Find out more about me right here

SÉBASTIEN – From my point of view, our beginnings as a couple were a bit bumpy on my side. When I met Rixt, I had just come out of my last relationship, which had lasted just over two years. I had just moved into my very first apartment of my own, in Winterthur, where I was working as a research assistant at ZHAW. The same engineering school where I received my Bachelor’s degree in Aeronautical Engineering in 2018.
So I was determined to take some time out to look after myself and focus on my favorite activities. Being still 100% in academia, I had a huge amount of time on my hands aside from work and had set my sights on running a Triathlon with 6 months’ preparation. At the time, my days consisted of work-sports-sleeping 5-6 days a week, and the rest of the time I spent with friends in town, or at my parents’ house in the French-speaking part of Switzerland.
Suffice it to say that my meeting with Rixt messed up my plans. From our very first meeting, I was sure I’d found the person I was going to be living with for the rest of my life. Things went so well that, just 6 months after taking possession of my new apartment, I handed in my rent notice and moved in with the person who had so successfully made a mess of my orderly lifestyle…

If you want to learn more about me, it’s here

On one of the first dates, we as a matter of fact already came across the topic of Canada. I had already been in Alberta on holiday in 2017, and it only took me two to three days to realize that this country/province was where my future would lie. Sébastien had always wanted to go to Canada to work as a bush pilot. But you know, then life happens, and we never really talked about it again.

Though after a year in 2020, Covid hit, and this turned out a huge event for us. Even though we can not really complain, because both of us smoothly sailed through this period. However, those events completely changed our point of view on life. In 2021, I still remember, it was during summertime, while grocery shopping, that I (Rixt) told Sébastien that I needed to get out of Europe and wanted to go to Canada. He agreed right away, we did not even enter a discussion. That’s when we started doing some research, but we could not do much more because Canada did not let people in at this point.

On the third of January 2022, we got engaged. After that, time went by like crazy! Rixt’s mom was terminally ill and we did not know how long she had left, so we decided to get married this same summer in Switzerland. Unfortunately, she could not be there with us in person anymore, but she did accompany us in spirit! Our wedding day turned out to be the best day of our lives! Up till that point of course.  We got to celebrate the start of the rest of our lives together, with friends and family, on the ninth of September. That’s during our honeymoon, which we spend in Norway, that we got the good news: Canada was open again! Talking about good wedding presents.

As soon as we got back from our honeymoon, we booked a flight. A one-way ticket to Calgary for the first of March. Then we set everything in motion – more to that process, you will find here. The last months up till March 2023 were spent planning everything, seeing friends one last time before we would set off on our journey, and spending time with family.

And now here we are!