In the real world, falling in love isn’t usually an adventure that literally begins with a daring ocean rescue—but sometimes that’s exactly how a story unfolds.
In February 2019, yoga instructor Nupur Gupta was swimming in the waters off a beach in Goa when the current got the better of her. While a strong swimmer, she feared she’d be unable to make it back to shore.
Hope came in the form of Hungarian-born financial adviser Attila Bosnyak, who’d spied his soon-true-love-to-be in trouble and was swimming to her aid.
Though a capable swimmer, once he reached Gupta, Bosnyak realized he wouldn’t be able to get both of them to safety on his own. Rather than towing Gupta in, he swam toward a nearby rock formation.
After several attempts in which he was pounded by fierce waves and smashed against the rocks, he was able to climb up and signal to the lifeguards on shore for help.
Once he saw a guard making a beeline for Gupta, a bleeding Bosnyak, who’d suffered numerous scrapes and bruises, swam back to shore and collapsed on a beach chair. A grateful Gupta, who’d quickly bounced back from her own ordeal, felt compelled to help the stranger who’d saved her life.
Swiftly procuring first-aid supplies—and chocolate ice-cream as a thank you—she returned to her hero’s side. After tending to his injuries, she tendered him the ice cream.
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Some might blame it on the chocolate, but in that instant, Gupta’s emotional landscape underwent a sea change—and she wasn’t the only one. Bosnyak felt the “magic” surge of attraction, too.
Gupta and Bosnyak were both staying at the same yoga resort; she, as a teacher and he, as a student (though not in any of her advanced classes). Over the course of the next few days, the promising relationship began taking shape.
However, since the retreat was soon to end and each was scheduled to go back to their respective lives—for Bosnyak, that meant his job in the Netherlands and for Gupta, home to Kerala—it looked as if the budding romance might never get a chance to blossom.
But the pair of them decided to take a chance on love. Putting their real lives on hold for another week, the couple spent Valentine’s Day together. In the coming months, thanks to social media, their bond continued to grow, albeit long distance.
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After a month of back and forth, Bosnyak knew he wanted to see where the relationship could go. He asked Gupta how she felt. She too wanted to move ahead.
“I immediately agreed without any second thoughts, despite knowing that it’s a huge distance, different cultures, continents, countries, cities,” she told CNN. “I wanted to do this. I mean, I wanted to have this experience. I loved his vibe for that time when I was around him and I was very happy.”
While the sweethearts hoped to meet in person for some quality couple time, plans for a vacation had to be put on hold when it was learned Gupta’s mother required emergency surgery for a brain tumor. After Gupta explained why she had to cancel their plans, without missing a beat, Bosnyak offered to fly there to be with her.
Once Gupta’s mother recovered, the pair embarked on a series of meet-ups in Dubai, Serbia, and eventually, Thailand. The sites weren’t chosen for their romantic potential but by what their travel visas would allow.
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In September 2019, Gupta was granted a Dutch visa. She joined Bosnyak in the Netherlands and traveled with him to meet his family in Hungary. While it took her time to adapt to both the culture and the climate, in her heart, she knew the move might prove to be a permanent one—and it did.
Bosnyak and Gupta were wed on March 21, 2020, at Trouwlocatie Groenmarkt which once served as city hall to The Hague. In fact, they were the last couple to marry at the prestigious site prior to the pandemic lockdown.
The newlyweds spent the next few months pretty much exclusively in one another’s company. “It’s the acid test, I think, for a relationship,” Bosnyak told CNN. “That you can live with that person for months and months and months with no events around, no places to visit, no fun activities apart from the ones you can invent inside your apartment—or during your short walks in the next one and a half, two kilometers in your neighborhood. So if you can make it, and keep on your happiness, then that relationship is rock solid.”
The couple’s road to a fairytale ending hasn’t been without its bumps, with Gupta recently contracting coronavirus. But she’s now on the mend, and she and Bosnyak are currently doing what they can to help friends and family as the pandemic continues to rage in India.
Next summer, Gupta and Bosnyak, along with their dog, Sukhi Ram, should be moving to Athens where Bosynak has been offered a job. If all goes according to plan, it looks as if an addition to the family might be in the cards as well.
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And while “happily ever after” is never guaranteed, we think that for a real-life romantic tale that started out with soggy Prince Charming and a damsel in distress, that sounds pretty darn close.
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So beautiful. Make it happen, you two lovebirds!!!