A Kiwi model has set up a Givealittle page to raise money so she can fly to San Francisco and visit the "love of my life".
Leah Pao says she met her boyfriend Sammy Abu-Hijab over the summer but that his work visa expired at the end of January and he had to return to the US.
"The story doesn't end there though," Pao wrote on her Givealittle page.
"We both decided to pursue a long-distance relationship coz let's be honest, we both deserve love and each other and we would hate ourselves if we didn't try."
Pao, who has modelled at NZ Fashion Week, said that the raised money would "go towards cute couple stuff aka turning up, food, flights if we wanted to randomly go on a trip, shopping, tourist things, etc."
"Of course I'm going to save up my own money, but the crowdfunded money will DEF help out heaps."
The trip was planned for May, she said.
On her Instagram account, Pao said she had "been in love before, but this man hits different".
She said her followers could "literally share our journey with us" via the photos she would post to Instagram.
"We've been pretty open with our relationship online, so you know EXACTLY what's gonna go down," she wrote.
So far the fund has raised just over $300 of its $2000 goal.
In an interview with VIVA earlier this month, Abu-Hijab, a massage therapist, said he loved Pao's accent and the slang she used and the fact that she "is always 100 percent her true self".
'We aren't afraid to act silly around each other which keeps things fun," he told the magazine.
