A woman who went travelling in Europe to get over heartbreak married a Parisian bartender she met on day one – after they fell in love flirting over Google Translate.
Erin Tridle, 32, originally from Chicago, Illinois, US, ventured to Europe in the summer of 2019 - starting her trip in Paris, France - after getting her heart broken.
She met a barman, Jordan, 27, on her second day of her trip and the pair hit it off engrossed in conversation about how "different" both their lives were.
The only reason she was at the bar was because she got a recommendation from a stranger after she missed a flight three years prior.
Despite the language barrier - with Erin speaking "barely and French" and Jordan speaking "very little English" - the pair spent an entire evening flirting via Google Translate.
They went on their first date beside the canals in central Paris and chatted till 4am.
The pair quickly became a couple - before going long-distance when Erin continued on the rest of her trip and jetted back to the US.
The couple decided to get married during lockdown.
Erin said: "I can't remember when but at one point we were on the phone and decided we were going to get married.
They tied the knot in July 2023 at a ceremony in Paris - surrounded by 36 of their friends and family.
Erin says their relationship "feels like fate" - as they only met because she missed a flight and Jordan wasn't supposed to be working but picked up a shift due to a colleague being ill.
Erin, a TV producer, who now lives in Paris with Jordan, said: "I think it was fate. Paris, and romance brought us together but it has always been love that has kept us together.
"I was devastated from a previous heartbreak and was not in a very happy place in my life at the time - I decided I needed an escape from everything.
"I fall asleep at the hostel I was staying at on the first day and woke up jet-legged at 3pm – which is when the rooftop bar opened, so I thought 'why not?'.
"I got there and was there for literally 15 seconds before a bartender is right next to me speaking French.
They spent the rest of the evening together and told each other their life stories.
Erin said: "He told me how old he was – 22 at the time – and I was 28.
"But I panicked and said I was 25.
"I told him the next day that I was actually 28 and he was fine with it.
"Neither of us were 'supposed' to be there and so many tiny things had to happen for us to actually meet – it's amazing."
Jordan, a student, originally from Arcachon Bay, South West France, added: "“I am extremely lucky and happy to have the chance to be with my best friend for the rest of my life.
The best thing that ever happened to me was us meeting each other.”
After their first meeting, Jordan asked Erin if she wanted to hang out after his shift was over.
Erin waited for "an age" and started "being hit on" by another guy who she says kept following her around the bar and tried to gatecrash their 'first date'.
Erin Tridle, 32, originally from Chicago, Illinois, US, ventured to Europe in the summer of 2019 - starting her trip in Paris, France - after getting her heart broken.
She met a barman, Jordan, 27, on her second day of her trip and the pair hit it off engrossed in conversation about how "different" both their lives were.
The only reason she was at the bar was because she got a recommendation from a stranger after she missed a flight three years prior.
Despite the language barrier - with Erin speaking "barely and French" and Jordan speaking "very little English" - the pair spent an entire evening flirting via Google Translate.
They went on their first date beside the canals in central Paris and chatted till 4am.
The pair quickly became a couple - before going long-distance when Erin continued on the rest of her trip and jetted back to the US.
The couple decided to get married during lockdown.
Erin said: "I can't remember when but at one point we were on the phone and decided we were going to get married.
They tied the knot in July 2023 at a ceremony in Paris - surrounded by 36 of their friends and family.
Erin says their relationship "feels like fate" - as they only met because she missed a flight and Jordan wasn't supposed to be working but picked up a shift due to a colleague being ill.
Erin, a TV producer, who now lives in Paris with Jordan, said: "I think it was fate. Paris, and romance brought us together but it has always been love that has kept us together.
"I was devastated from a previous heartbreak and was not in a very happy place in my life at the time - I decided I needed an escape from everything.
"I fall asleep at the hostel I was staying at on the first day and woke up jet-legged at 3pm – which is when the rooftop bar opened, so I thought 'why not?'.
"I got there and was there for literally 15 seconds before a bartender is right next to me speaking French.
They spent the rest of the evening together and told each other their life stories.
Erin said: "He told me how old he was – 22 at the time – and I was 28.
"But I panicked and said I was 25.
"I told him the next day that I was actually 28 and he was fine with it.
"Neither of us were 'supposed' to be there and so many tiny things had to happen for us to actually meet – it's amazing."
Jordan, a student, originally from Arcachon Bay, South West France, added: "“I am extremely lucky and happy to have the chance to be with my best friend for the rest of my life.
The best thing that ever happened to me was us meeting each other.”
After their first meeting, Jordan asked Erin if she wanted to hang out after his shift was over.
Erin waited for "an age" and started "being hit on" by another guy who she says kept following her around the bar and tried to gatecrash their 'first date'.
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FunTranscript
00:00 [wind]
00:16 Hi, my name is Erin Tridle. I am 32 years old and I am originally from the US, Chicago, and then later LA, but now I live in Paris.
00:25 I decided to stay at a hostel in Paris that had been recommended to me three years prior.
00:31 I fell asleep for the first day. I woke up really jet-lagged around 3 p.m.
00:35 That's when the rooftop bar opened and I got up there and immediately was met by the French bartender, my now husband,
00:43 asking me if I wanted a drink and very quickly taking a lot of breaks to talk to me.
00:49 And then later that night we ended up hanging out. We went down to the canals in Paris and sat on a bench until 4 a.m.
00:58 just talking over like broken English and Google Translate.
01:02 Like, we did the best we could and we did pretty well because we had our first kiss.
01:06 [silence]
01:19 Into the second day of us knowing each other, this is like less than 36 hours,
01:23 essentially he surprised me with a, like, giant hotel room with a balcony overlooking all of Paris and red roses and white wine, my favorite wine.
01:34 And I was really impressed. And he introduced me to all of his coworkers, which is how I knew he was, like, really kind of serious.
01:42 And this hadn't even been 36 hours. And then I was supposed to get on a flight to Milan.
01:47 And he basically, I was sobbing, and he turned to me and he said, "I love you. I want you to be my girlfriend."
01:54 And I said, "I love you" back and it just snowballed from there and we've been together ever since.
02:01 [silence]
02:09 The wedding day was fabulous. It was literally perfect down to every last detail.
02:14 I think the worst thing that happened was they had to switch out the kind of wine they served at our wedding.
02:19 So, like, not a big deal. It was beautiful. All of our family was there.
02:24 It was absolutely perfect. We took pictures in front of the Eiffel Tower.
02:27 I mean, I got to, my wedding photos are in front of the Eiffel Tower, you know what I mean?
02:32 Like, it was fabulous. We always say it's the second best day of our lives, the first best day being the day we met each other.
02:40 [silence]