Theres no doubt that being in a long-distance relationship comes with its challenges: trying to coordinate time to talk across different time zones, making plans to see each other when your work schedules or finances (or the current pandemic) dont allow for it and going long stretches of time without that coveted face-to-face connection.

But as people in LDRs will tell you, there are also some positive aspects to the experience that you may not have considered before.

For more than two years, Missy Eames was living in New York while her now-husband Harley was living in Australia; the pair eloped in July at Brooklyn Bridge Park in Brooklyn, New York. The long-distance path was difficult at times but it also strengthened their relationship, she said.

Long distance was not always ideal. It came with struggles, loneliness, longing and then a pandemic happened and made it a bit harder for a short time in our situation, Eames told HuffPost. That being said, the nature of our relationship has left us with tons of memories and experiences that are irreplaceable.