Barnegat Woman, Husband Unite In Song In Coronavirus Separation

BARNEGAT, NJ — The new coronavirus has forced people near and far to adapt to a life without social interaction. For some people, obeying statewide stay-at-home orders has been a piece a cake. For others, it has felt like a cruel and unusual punishment. No one knows that better than Chrissy Chapais.

In what has seemed like an eternity, Chapais has not seen her husband, AJ, since Feb. 21. He is in Sudbury, Canada, and she is in Barnegat, New Jersey. More than 750 miles separate the two — and it's not by choice.

"Because of the pandemic, the border between the U.S. and Canada are closed for nonessential travel," Chapais told Patch. "Unfortunately, being with your spouse is not considered essential."

Two months ago, Chapais and her now-husband eloped in New Jersey. After marrying the love of her life, AJ returned to Canada, and she returned home in New Jersey to begin preparing for a 12-hour move to AJ's home country. However, that's when then the couple's real-life horror story began. The coronavirus halted the couple's plans to start their lives together under one roof.

"I sent out my passport in February right after we got married so that I could have my name changed on there. And now it is in limbo," she said.

The couple met on the popular singing app, Smule, about a year ago. The social singing app lets people connect with others around the world for karaoke duets.

"There are different ways to sing with each other — either a person can open a song and others can join at different times or you can do live jams, which is basically like video chatting and singing karaoke at the same time," Chapais explained. "So not only do you get to sing live with each other, you also get to have a conversation and make friends."

According to Chapais, when she met AJ on the app, it was an immediate attraction. Through their love of music, they found themselves singing together often. However, in the beginning, she didn't think there was room for anything beyond "singing buddies."

"I honestly thought he was married with a child, because I always heard his little boy in the background," she said. "I found out later that he was single and he has full custody of his 5-year-old nephew."

A long-distance romance soon blossomed, and the rest is history. Fast forward to today, the couple eagerly awaits the day they can hold each other in their arms. Until that day arrives, they said they are grateful for technology, which makes the distance between them somewhat easier.

"He is the first person I talk to when I wake up, and the last person I talk to when I go to sleep," she said. "We video chat multiple times per day. We watch movies together, play video games together. I even help his nephew with his homework. Yesterday, we had a date night through Zoom. I made my virtual background a romantic restaurant and we ate dinner together, pretending we were in a real restaurant."

And, of course, the couple continues to sing together. Recently, the two wrote and recorded an original song, titled "Half a Day Away," about their difficult separation.

"Babe, when the world starts turning and brings a new beginning. I'd travel far and wide just to get to you. Blocked borders, closed doorways. They don’t mean nothing, baby. I would move mountains just to get to you," the first verse to the song goes.

While the separation has been far from easy, the couple knows there is a light at the end of the tunnel. In all this madness, there is also a silver lining.

"Even though I would like nothing more than to be able to hug him and be next to him," she said, "this has given us the ability to make our emotional relationship incredibly strong."

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