Angela Nwachukwu, a 72-year-old Briton tied the knot with her Nigerian husband, 27, in April 2015, but ever since, the United Kingdom immigration has put them apart.
CJ Nwachukwu, a computer engineer who resides in Owerri, Imo state, was recently denied a UK visa for the second time.
The duo came across each other on Facebook, after CJ added her as a friend. Angela’s trip to Nigeria for the wedding was the first time they met.
She told The Sun that she has spent £20,000 on trips to Nigeria and trying to get him into the UK.
“After the wedding, I found it hard leaving CJ. I knew I’d see him again soon but my family visa application was rejected,” she said.
“I was so determined to get him a visa I hired lawyers to fight for us. I’ve since visited him twice.
“We’ve spent a combined £20,000 trying to see each other. I’ve used my savings and he has gradually paid me back half.”
In spite of their inability to live together in the same time zone, Angela believes they “belong together”.
“He makes me feel like the most beautiful woman in the world. I know in my heart we belong together and we won’t stop fighting until we can be together as husband and wife. We won’t let this break us,” she said.
“I was so taken aback when he asked me to marry him. I thought he was joking. But he told me he wanted to spend the rest of his life with me.
“Of course, I said yes. He was beaming at me with such a big smile on his face. Knowing I made him that happy was all the reassurance I needed. There was such an amazing chemistry between us.”
The couple’s last resort is that he will be allowed to travel to the UK in 2018 on a student visa.
“Our only hope now is that CJ will be allowed to come next year on a student visa to study his Masters in computing,” said Angela.
“I’m hoping to go to Africa later this year to visit him and I’m counting down the days until I can see him again.”
CJ is six years younger than her eldest child.
