Love Story with Kim Dao & Eric

How did you both meet and how long have you been together?

We met at the University of Western Australia at a Japanese Studies Society club back in Perth. We both had an interest in Japan at the time and wanted to meet people with similar interests. In the club, a small group of friends formed and we used to hang out during our class breaks and would often go out to dinner as a group. After knowing Eric for about 2 months we decided to start a relationship. We have been together for almost 10 years now!

When did you realise Eric was ‘the one’?

When I first met Eric, he was just such a kind person who would go out of his way to help anyone. Our relationship has always been amazing and I knew that he was someone I wanted to be with long term from the very beginning. From the start of our relationship, we both enjoyed each other’s company so much, we wanted to spend every second together. There wasn’t a time where I realised that he was “the one”, but every moment with him just felt so right.

How would you describe your relationship with Eric?

I honestly would say “comfortable”. We have been together for almost 10 years that we are both completely comfortable with each other. We love each other’s company, spending time together and growing together as a couple. When we first met, we were both only 20, so we have both changed a lot since then. We learnt so much about each other over the years and are still learning everyday which makes it exciting. We are both committed and loyal to each other which honestly makes the relationship feel very easy to manage!

What do you think makes a strong relationship?

Love, Communication and Trust.

I feel like those are the 3 things you need for a strong relationship. A relationship is a 2 way street, you both have to put in the same amount of effort, otherwise there will always be someone that will be upset. Communication is also very important, if something is wrong, it is better to say it instead of keeping it in and making it worse later on. Something that I always believed in is “never go to bed without resolving a disagreement”. Talk, but also just as important to listen to each other.

Kim, you are a full time ‘influencer’ and ‘content creator’. What role has Eric played in this journey for you?

Eric has always been supportive of what I do and does his best to help me out. He isn’t an online personality and doesn’t use social media and I respect that, so I don’t usually include him in my content. However, he is more than happy to help me out behind the camera whether it be for filming or photography which I’m really grateful for. Because of the nature of my work, I do have to travel often which means we are apart from each other sometimes weeks at a time. I think what really tested us was when I moved away alone and lived in Japan for about 2 years. Of course no-one wants to do long distance, but we found that it wasn’t that hard. We both trusted each other so much that it didn’t matter what anyone said, end of the day we knew that the other person was trustworthy. He is just someone that is so patient, understanding and will always take time out to help me!

Kim what does love mean to you?

Love makes me feel happy. Even if it’s something small like sharing food with my husband, cuddling and watching a movie together, playing a game together. As long as I’m with him, I can be myself, I feel safe and I just want to spend more and more time with him. Love is coming home. No matter what went on during the day, coming home to my husband is the best feeling ever.

What does it mean to you to share your Love Story with our readers?

It means so much, I feel very honoured to be part of this! I love sharing my Love Story but also reading Love Stories from other couples too. Love is beautiful and deserves to be celebrated! Eric and I had an incredible time with everyone shooting this, it felt like we were back on our wedding day! We both cannot wait to see the final results!