Joanna Girling's friends and family doubted her relationship with Hysm Fygo. They suspected he might have a hidden agenda but four years on the couple are trying for a baby - proving their love is the real deal.
Joanna, 48, describes Hysm, 40, as her 'soulmate' and the pair are set to get married in Cairo this summer. They met in May 2019 in Hurghada, not long after Joanna had been dumped by a younger Egyptian man she'd also met in the country.
She says lots of people didn't think her relationship with Hysm would last because of what happened in the past. She says people still think that he is with her for her money, despite the fact they have been together for a number of years.
"When I first met him, I had nothing and he knew I had no money. Hysm actually got a bank loan out to pay for my visa in Egypt after I got divorced," she told The Mirror.
Joanna, who used to work for Tesco, met her ex-boyfriend in 2018 while she was on holiday with her then-husband. She'd sneak off to sleep with the waiter while her husband slept.
When she returned back to England she ended her marriage for waiter Hassan - who was in his twenties - but he ended it after her she "ran out of money". The following year she moved to Egypt permanently.
Keen to start a new life she got a job as a nursery teacher, meeting her now-fiancé Hysm by chance. She said: "It was in the back of my mind at the start that Hysm was going to be the same as Hassan - wanting money.
"I was only with Hassan for a month and he gave me a list of things he wanted - cognac, aftershave, trainers, a phone. He kept asking me to send him money. So when I met Hysm, I kept pushing him away. He said to me, 'Look I'm not after your money. It's you that I want to be with'.
"Hysm makes me feel great. He made me trust people again. He is my soulmate.
"There seems to be a magnet that keeps us together. There's something there that I've never had in previous relationships, even with my ex-husband. We would love to have a family but it might not be possible because I'm 48. We've been trying for four years but nothing has happened."
Hysm's family has accepted their relationship but Joanna says some of her own relatives shunned her when she first moved abroad. "My family still don't speak to me and they haven't since I left to come to Egypt in 2019. I speak to friends that I used to work with at Tesco," she said.
"Some of them didn't think it would last but I'm still here." Joanna, from Kings Lynn, Norfolk, met Hysm while she was out for a drink with a friend at his herbs and spices shop in 2019.
The flirty pair got talking and organised a taxi home together, where they enjoyed a night of passion at Joanna's apartment. It was an instant connection for Joanna, who "wasn't out there looking for love", but found it in the most unlikely of places.
In 2021, Joanna returned to the UK to save up some money and get a formal divorce, so her and Hysm could marry officially in Egypt. "He always tells me that I'm beautiful. The eight-year age gap means nothing to me because my ex-husband was 12 years older," Joanna said.
At the beginning, the couple had sex together every day and they still get intimate every couple of days. "The spark is very much still there, definitely. We have sex so much more than I have done in previous relationships," she said.
"Sometimes, when we've got the money and time off, we like to go out to a club and go dancing, or sit on the beach and relax." Hysm often woos Joanna with traditional Egyptian cooking in their rented apartment in Hurghada.
Though, the pair hope to save up and buy a property together in Luxor, after paying for their wedding day. "Western women have to go to Cairo to get married, it's a bit like a registry office. It's not straightforward like in England," Joanna said.
"It's about 50,000 Egyptian pounds (£1,200) and we're looking at next month. I want Hysm to have a wedding because he's never had one. He's got a very big family so we'd invite a couple of thousand people. It will be a two-day wedding party."
Joanna, who earns approximately £200 a month working seven days a week on a boat, said the salary in Egypt is "very low". "We are thinking about going to the UK for a year to save some money. I'd like to show him a proper English seaside and take him to London," Joanna said.
Hysm has family in England and has never visited the UK before, though a tour with Joanna could be on the horizon. Joanna added: "People said that it wouldn't last and we've been together four years now. I went with my heart and had a lot of backlash, but I proved them wrong."
