Stella met her boyfriend when she was only 17 years old but they only started dating when she was done with high school, two years later. Their romance started off on such a high note that both of their families knew about their relationship. 

They stood by each other, trusting and believing that their relationship will finally lead to marriage. Their intentions were indeed authentic but life happened.

Stella had to go abroad for her studies and this, as they all had been afraid of, left their relationship in a dump. Communication between the couple vanished and slowly by slowly, they lost touch. They later had to break off the relationship.

Stella’s situation is not unique, a number of people admit that making a long-distance relationship work is one of the most difficult and complicated experiences.

This, of course, depends on the unique circumstances of the different couples, but relationship experts observe that what kills most distant relationships is the lack of communication and physical interaction. 

Counsellor Jessica Kayitesi notes that lack of communication is one factor that destroys long distance relationships.

"If you change pace in the way you have been communicating with your partner, expect changes in your relationships. Consistent communication matters a lot for any relationship, but when it comes to long distance love, maintaining this is very crucial, though this can at times be hard, especially when the times zones of the countries you are staying in are very different,” she says.

Sologne Patterson points to unresolved fights as one of the obstacles that affect working of long distance relationships.

She writes that, when you see each other every day, you are sort of forced to face any problems that lie between the two of you. However, when you are looking forward to those phone calls or Skype dates, it’s easy to push aside big issues, not wanting to waste what little time you have together arguing.

"Don’t do this! Unresolved problems can turn to resentment, and nothing is going to change if you don’t talk about it. Do you realise how much it would suck if the eventual breakup is caused by a problem the two of you could have fixed months ago instead of ignoring it?” Patterson writes. 

How to make it work 

Joseph Muramira, an IT specialist, says that a long distance relationship requires more sacrifices than any other relationship.

"Dating someone from a distance requires lot. Remember there is bound to be trust issues, you or your partner will always suspect the other of cheating. One has to be very vigilant in ensuring that their partner doesn’t suspect anything at all, because a small mishap can mean the end of the relationship,” he says.

He also advises couples in such relationships to make time for each other, and especially try to meet physically once in a while.

"Depending on where you are, try to fix time for physical meet ups because lack of physical interactions can leave couples hanging in balance, or worse, losing touch with the reality of their relationship.”

Muramira also adds that without physical interactions, couples are bound to fall into the trap of cheating on each other.

Kayitesi advises couples to stick to what brought them together in the first place.

"Set goals together as a couple and let that be the driving factor in building this relationship. Be trustworthy to each other, do not let yourselves be in situations that you know can lead you off track. And most importantly, do not be led by emotions, but by the right mind-set and noble intentions for your significant other,” she says.