After a friendship of 11 years, lifelong Ripley County resident Beth Pruett and David Dikomite of London, England were married on Christmas Day 2021. The wedding took place on the patio of Beth’s grandparents Jack and Carolyn Cochran of Doniphan. Marriage Officiant and mother of the bride Dawn Lane performed the ceremony. David’s parents, Steve and Sally Dikomite, were to attend via FaceTime but Internet connection issues prevented it. Instead the wedding was recorded and sent to them.
The story of the Dikotmites’ unusual long-distance relationship began in 2010 when online video games bridged the 4,328 mile gap between them. David was then a full-time caregiver to his grandmother, Barbara Dikomite. In his spare time he played World of Warcraft online. Beth and he had met previously online and chatted as friends. He invited her to game with him and they became gaming partners for the next six years.
“David was really easy to talk to and genuine,” said Beth.
During those six years Beth would get married to a local man, have two children and get divorced. The years of David’s friendship gave her a confidant to lean upon in bad times and a friend with which to celebrate the good times, she said.
“It didn’t start out to be that kind of a relationship,” said David, but in 2016 they began to consider themselves a couple. Their long-distance dates were video calls and watch parties that allowed them to view programs together, said Beth. They also read books at the same time so they could discuss them and they sent each other alternating care packages.
“Scheduling time together is probably the most important thing we did,” said Beth. “Not necessarily every night but an hour or so where we could video call and just hang out and dedicate that time to each other.”
On Nov. 7, 2016, David’s grandmother passed away and Beth and David made the decision to meet in person. In September 2017 David flew to St. Louis, Mo. and they were together in person for the first time.
“It was oddly familiar,” said Beth. “We already knew each other so well.”
David met Beth’s parents, grandparents and her sons, Johnny and Jackson. He returned to London after two and one-half weeks. A longer visit came shortly after and then a cycle of regular visits.
In 2019, Beth traveled to London to meet David’s parents.
“We had long determined that we were a family,” said Beth, but she admits to being nervous about meeting them. “It was very important to me that they like me.”
“There was no problem there,” said David. Sally, retired from London’s Barclay Bank, and Steve, retired U.K. postal worker, liked her quite well, he said.
David came back to America with her but in March 2020 he had to return to the U.K. because his current visa was expiring. The COVID-19 pandemic travel restrictions were enacted while he was back in London and prevented him from returning for more than a year.
Beth went through job loss and career change during 2020 while David sought ways to get back to his family in America.
When the restrictions were relaxed enough to allow Americans to travel to England, Beth and her sons flew to London in 2021 when school dismissed in May. After more than a year apart the family was back together and the boys met David’s parents. Beth and the boys spent the entire summer in England with David and his family.
The couple hoped David would be allowed to return with them, but the restrictions for travel into the United States had not then relaxed enough to allow it. Beth and the boys returned to the States without him.
David would be reunited with his family in America a short time later though. He arrived in Doniphan on Oct. 4, 2021, just in time for Beth’s birthday.
Their marriage on Christmas Day 2021 was the culmination of an unusual and very non-traditional courtship. To commemorate it the couple opted not to get traditional wedding bands and instead got their ring fingers tattooed.