‘We met on the No 73 bus,” says Matt Blayney, remembering the scorching hot day in August 2003 with total clarity. “No,” says Erika, laughing at her husband. “He’s got this wrong. It was the No 94 and then we changed to the 73.”
When Erika climbed the bus stairs at Notting Hill, the top deck was almost empty. “He loves to tell people that I came to sit beside him,” says Erika. “But I was a tourist, so I only decided to sit at the front of the bus for the views of London.”
It wasn’t long before his radioactive sunburn caught her attention. “My first impression was just: ‘Wow – this man is so red!’” For Matt it was Erika’s smile and “sexy pink top” that sparked his interest. “I think you just liked my boobs,” she jokes.
“No,” he says. “There was definitely more to it than that.”
For the rest of the journey Matt chatted away to her, although she barely understood a word. “I just kept saying: ‘Sorry, no speaking English.’” At one point they discussed directions and he told her he was due to catch the same bus as her. “From the little I could understand I was a bit scared because this stranger was telling me to get on this bus with him.” But by the end of the trip she says there was “a bit of interest” and they swapped numbers.
A week later, Matt called when Erika was in the middle of an English lesson. Without the language skills to politely explain where she was and ask him to call back, she admits she “had be quite abrupt”. When Matt lost his phone a few days later, he was gutted because he thought he would never see her again. He was going to replace it, of course, but he didn’t have any other record of her phone number. “A week later, Erika called me and I was over the moon. We met up in Hyde Park near her English school and we sat and talked.”
Matt discovered Erika had been a successful journalist back in Brazil and was instantly impressed. “She was so interesting and intelligent. I thought I’d met the most amazing person in the world. I felt so lucky.”
There was definite chemistry, but it wasn’t until their second date in Chiswick Park that Erika knew the relationship could be something more. “We shared a hug at the end of date and I always say it was like I’d been hit by Cupid’s arrow. I’d never felt that before.”
At 24, she had come to London to learn English and have an adventure – she had never expected to meet the man she would spend her life with. Matt’s cheeriness made the grey days in London more colourful. “I came to the city for three months and ended up staying for five years.”
For the first few weeks of their relationship, Erika asked a Brazilian friend to translate Matt’s messages. Although the communication barrier was “very frustrating”, it was a good incentive to learn the language. “I was helping her with English and she was giving me lessons in Portuguese,” says Matt. “It was really nice.” Erika was so determined to become fluent, she even asked for extra English lessons instead of a ring when they got engaged.
The couple married in 2005, with celebrations in London and Brazil. “We had a little 94 bus on top of our wedding cake,” says Erika. Although she loved her time in London, she knew she didn’t want to live in England for ever. “I persuaded Matt to come with me to Brazil – just to see what it was like.” In 2008, they moved there, and now live in the capital, Brasília, with their two children, Jacqueline, 12, and Jessica, 10. Erika is working as a TV reporter while Matt is a private English teacher. “When we met I ran a bar in Islington. I never dreamed I’d be a teacher. We have had such an amazing relationship and a wonderful life.”
Reflecting on their story, Erika says she is amazed they ended up together. “I didn’t speak any English, we met on a bus and then Matt lost his phone. Everything was working against us but somehow, against all the odds, we ended up falling in love.”
