Unmarried 'sweethearts' separated by borders are turning to social media campaigns and petitions to reduce travel bans preventing couples from reuniting

• While travel bans limit unnecessary travel during the pandemic, they also require "sweethearts," or estranged unmarried couples from different countries or states, to endure months of separation.
• Social media campaigns are connecting thousands of these couples in solidarity, spawning a Facebook group with over 10,000 members, two Twitter threads, an Instagram campaign, and a US petition.
• Even with some countries relaxing travel bans, passengers are facing obstacles like obtaining D Visas or signing a declaration that they've been in a relationship with their partner for at least three months.
• The pushback for exemptions from unmarried couples has motivated some government officials to rethink and expand the definition of partnerships, but places like the US are still refusing to budge.
• "This is a travesty and no family should have to endure it," said Texas-based Corsi Crumpler, who gave birth to her son while her fiancé was 4,000 miles away in Ireland.

On July 22, Corsi Crumpler endured a harrowing 24-hour labor, giving birth without her fiancé, Sean Donovan, by her side. He was on FaceTime, 4,463 miles away in Dublin, Ireland, while she was in Wichita Falls, Texas.

The two met in 2018 when Crumpler spotted him in a pub while on a day off from her job as a flight attendant. They never went more than six weeks without seeing each other.

Crumpler found out she was pregnant in November 2019. She last saw Donovan on March 8, 2020.

"He never heard the baby kick," Crumpler said. "I have gone through what should be the happiest time of my life completely alone, stressed, and terrified."

"We have already missed out on many experiences together, which is something we won't get back," Donovan added.

A social media movement gains traction to reunite couples

Crumpler and Donovan are among the thousands of unmarried couples separated due to travel bans. To prevent the further spread of COVID-19, numerous countries, including the US, have instituted travel bans barring entry of travelers from certain countries. Exceptions are provided for some types of travelers, including spouses, but not unmarried couples.

Pining from not seeing her boyfriend, an artist living in Israel, since early March, Eva Hoornaert, who lives in Belgium, realized as she scrolled through social media that she was not alone. So she started a Facebook group, "Love Is Not Tourism," to bring affected couples from all over the world together to lobby for exceptions to the travel bans.

The group is a source of solidarity for the members, who share their stories of separation as well as unification when some travel restrictions are lifted. They also update each other on changes that permit travel to and from different countries as well as participate in discussions around what the experience is like at the borders of different countries. The end goal is to get unmarried couples in a committed relationship to be considered essential travelers and consequently not subject to travel bans.

Hoornaert told Business Insider that the tagline is intended to emphasize that the estranged couples — so-called "sweethearts" — aren't in the same category as those wanting to tour the country. She's heard from countless separated couples who relay stories of heartache like Crumpler's.

What started as a simple concept to unite those enduring such separations has turned into a major social media movement. The Facebook group now has over 10,000 members and has spawned other groups focused on individual countries. There are also two Twitter threads, #LoveisNotTourism and #LoveIsEssential, and an Instagram campaign. A petition allowing non-EU citizens involved in an international partnership to enter the EU and associated states along with other permitted essential individuals has garnered over 20,000 signatures.

Separated by borders, enduring heartache

Hoornaert explained that many of the couples she's interacted with on social media are at a point in their lives where they can't afford to live together.

"It's a temporary situation that got interrupted," she said.

Maggie Foster, who started the #LoveIsNotTourism movement on Twitter and launched the Facebook group, "Couples Separated by Travel Bans," similar to Hoornaert's group but focused on the US and the EU, pointed out that there are exemptions for professional athletes and other groups, like certain business travelers. Yet, she said a member of her group was denied an exemption to see her partner with stage four cancer; he died on July 19.

"It's extremely frustrating," said Foster, who lives in New Jersey and has a partner in France.

Hoornaert and Foster both said that there's a recognition among their groups of the importance of minimizing the spread of COVID-19, especially to areas like the EU where rates are lower. They argue that safeguards can be put in place, with travelers getting tested and quarantining upon arrival.

"We just want to be reunited with the people that are most important to us," Foster said. "As restaurants, clubs, and other venues open, our lives are still on hold indefinitely"

Some countries begin to reopen

The social media push is already having an impact. Denmark was the first to open up its borders to sweethearts living in different countries on June 27, according to Sanne Jakobsen, who was involved in the effort and is the administrator of another Facebook group with the tag #GlobalLove. Norway, the Netherlands, Austria, and Iceland have also opened their borders, according to a website that keeps a running tally.

Requirements vary for each country. In Denmark, those entering the country need to sign a declaration that they've been in a relationship with their partner for at least three months. A coronavirus test is also required either before or upon arrival, and the traveler must quarantine for 14 days if they test positive. Jakobsen said that banning unmarried couples from reuniting was particularly punitive in Denmark, where more than half of all Danes older than 18 were unmarried in 2016.

Moritz Korner, a member of the European Parliament, has been one of the group's greatest champions. He began receiving a barrage of messages from those affected beginning at the end of June.

"I thought this was really unfair. My definition of family is broader than just married couples," he said. He wrote letters to the 27 heads of EU governments urging them to follow the model of Denmark. He only received two responses, one from the Hungarian government saying it intends to keep the exemptions limited only to family, and the other from the Czech Republic, which has decided to open.

The European Commission has issued a formal recommendation to lift travel restrictions from some countries, though it's not binding. In two tweets on July 2, EU Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johannson urged the state authorities to apply as wide a definition of partnerships as possible and argued that the "sweetheart" in a durable relationship with an EU citizen or legal resident should be exempt from EU travel restrictions on nonessential travel.

Korner said Johannson's support was a breakthrough, but that with the Parliament heading on summer break, he's not optimistic that there will be any changes soon. Hoornaert added that even if the EU and the US open their borders to unmarried couples, many more countries have yet to do so. Love Is Not Tourism continues to work with these countries, including the Philippines and Japan.

"We won't stop until all countries have applied our requests," she said.

Even with open borders, obstacles to entry remain

Even when a country opens its borders, there's no guarantee that travelers will be allowed to fly there.

Izabelly Santos, who lives in Santa Cruz, California, booked a flight to Vienna to see her partner and thought she had all the necessary paperwork, including a signed form with permission to enter Austria.

But when she got to the San Francisco airport on July 18, she wasn't allowed to board and was told she needed to be married and was lacking a D Visa.

"D Visas are visas for people who want to spend more than 90 days in Europe," she said. "I know about the D visa, but I am not planning to stay more than 90 days in Europe. I know I can fly to Austria because of the new regulation allowing unmarried couples. I bought my ticket online, the airlines don't even ask your passport when you purchase it. I was confident I was allowed to board."

She believes it was a miscommunication between the Austrian government and the airline.

"I went crazy. I just wanted to get on the plane," she said.

Martina Mauritsch, who lives in Salzburg, Austria, said that her partner can't fly from Mexico to visit her since connecting airports won't allow him to enter and there are very few direct flights to Austria.

Foster said that while the EU has at least acknowledged the movement, her group hasn't received any response from the US government.

Celeste McLeod, who manages the Twitter campaign for Foster's Facebook group, said that she's been disappointed by the lack of focused attention and the "nonsensical" remarks from the administration. She cites a statement by White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany in a July 13 press briefing. Asked about the rationale for banning travelers from the EU and the UK when they have a fraction of the cases as the US, McEnany said, "The argument is we will always put America first." (Business Insider contacted the White House for a comment, who referred a request for comment to the Department of Homeland Security. The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to a request for comment.)

Donovan was finally allowed to travel from Ireland to the US and met his son, Taos, on July 23. Crumpler explained that the executive order Trump signed when he put the EU travel ban in place exempts spouses and/or parents of any US citizen under the age of 21.

"He just broke down with tears," she said. "He immediately picked him up and just stared at him. We were just both so happy to be reunited as a family. It was silence, tears, laughter, joy, relief."

She hopes exemptions are made to spare others the pain she suffered. "This is a travesty and no family should have to endure it."