They were a couple who lived more than 5,500 miles apart and only able to communicate via message or video call, but their romance got very serious, very quickly.
William Hargrove lived in Albany, Oregon, while Anna Repkina was in Moscow, Russia. They’d never met in person but a few months after connecting online, William and Anna were talking about taking a leap of faith at Christmas and starting a future together.
After splitting from her boyfriend of seven years, caring Anna had been looking for love when she met William on a Russian social networking site. They seemed to have lots in common, including a love of music and live gigs, and William loved her affectionate nature and sense of humour. Anna worked hard in her office job, but she also dreamed of settling down, getting married and having a family. William seemed to be offering her everything she had ever wanted.
It was 2016, and William, then 26, a bouncer and mechanic, convinced Anna, 27, to fly to the US with talk about magical days they could spend together in the snow, snuggling up in front of roaring fires and enjoying a magical Christmas. They could find out whether their feelings were real.
Anna fell for it hook, line and sinker. She agreed to travel to the US to spend the festive season with him, bravely booking flights and taking a chance on love. Anna was looking forward to finding out more about her new boyfriend – not knowing he was hiding a pretty huge secret. William was already in a relationship with someone else.
Michelle Chavez was married with two kids when she met William, but her marriage was on the rocks. She started an affair with William and, bizarrely, let him move into the family home by renting him the spare room.
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