Pen Pals to Partners: 30-Year Love Story Triumphs Distance

Quick Smiles:

• Teen pen pals from Singapore and England celebrate 30 years of marriage.
• Alena and Chad’s relationship blossomed from letters and cassette tapes.
• Their love story overcame distance and hefty phone bills.

In a world where instant messaging and video calls are the norm, the journey of Alena and Chad Benson is a delightful reminder of the magic of old-fashioned communication. Their story began in 1986 when 17-year-old Alena, living in Singapore, wrote letters to several overseas pen pals through an international youth service.

Among her new correspondents was Chad from Devon, England. Alena recalls sending her first letter “for the fun of it, not thinking that I was going to get a reply.”

Over the years, their connection deepened as they exchanged countless letters and over 100 cassette tapes, sharing snippets of their lives across the globe. Their correspondence spanned seven years until Alena, at 23, decided to take a bold step.

“I was traveling around Asia, so I said to my parents, ‘I have been writing to this boy from England and I want to go and visit him.’ My parents didn’t stop me because they knew I loved traveling and I was quite adventurous.”

Chad vividly remembers their first meeting at Heathrow Airport, thinking, “Wow, is she my pen pal?”

During Alena’s 19-day visit to the UK, the pair realized their bond was more than just friendship. Upon her return to Singapore, they began daily phone calls, which led to skyrocketing phone bills—£350 for Chad and £450 for Alena.

“I paid the bill so my parents didn’t know how much it was—I didn’t tell them,” Alena confessed. “But for Chad, he had to tell his parents because the bill went to the parent’s name and his parents started panicking and they were like ‘how are we going to pay this bill Chad?’”

In February 1994, Chad traveled to Singapore, where he proposed to Alena during a holiday. Despite initial resistance from Alena’s parents, she chose to marry Chad.

“My parents were not accepting. I either had to get married or forget everything and get back to Singapore. I made the choice to marry him anyway,” she shared. “I came to a stage where I realized that we have so much history together and I couldn’t just let it go.”

Eventually, Alena’s mother acknowledged the depth of her daughter’s feelings and gave her blessing. In 1995, Alena moved to the UK, and the couple wed in Kingsbridge on a modest budget of $2,500.

Today, they are proud parents of three children, all now in their 20s. Reflecting on their journey, Chad says, “She is my best friend. We do everything together. She is an amazing woman.”

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