Townsville’s Greg Taylor and Canada’s Nicole Harlow make a Covid-19 pandemic connection

During the lonely pandemic lockdowns, an unlikely romance blossomed between a Townsville business manager and a Canadian primary school teacher. Read their love story.

Canada's Nicole Harlow and Australia's Greg Taylor shopping at the Saint John City Market on Christmas Eve. Picture: Supplied.

While many of us have negative associations with the pandemic era, one lucky Townsville couple will look back on the lockdowns with fondness, thanks to the love they were able to forge from opposite sides of the world.

A Townsville local and business manager, Greg Taylor, had decided to dip his toe back into the dating pool in 2020 after being single for about seven months.

Despite setting up an in-depth dating profile on eHarmony, he had struggled to meet like-minded people who he “clicked with”.

Meanwhile, 15,000km away in Hampton, New Brunswick, Canada, primary school teacher and private tutor Nicole Harlow had been single for six months and was frustrated by the local dating options being presented by the same website.

“There wasn’t anyone I was really interested in near me, so for fun I decided to look in Australia. I’ve had an interest in Australia since I was about four-years-old, when my grandparents spent several months travelling across this beautiful country,” Nicole said

“Greg was high on my list of matches. I read his profile, looked through his photos and was instantly drawn to him. We had lots in common, including each having three daughters and a love of nature and adventure. I first sent him a message in March of 2020, during one of the first lockdowns of Covid.”

When Nicole reached out, Greg noted that they matched highly in their compatibility score and they hit it off right from the start.

Canada's Nicole Harlow and Australia's Greg Taylor on one of their Townsville dinner dates during Nicole's second Australian visit. Picture: Supplied.

“It was so easy to chat with her. I really love her smile. We share a lot of common interests,” Greg said.

“We first spoke online in 2020 at the start of Covid and spent hundreds of hours facetiming during lockdowns, which drew us further together.”

Given that Nicole’s community had been in lockdown for months, she was so grateful to have him keep her company, with his messages quickly becoming the highlight of her day.

“He was so easy to talk to and could make me laugh a lot,” she said.

The tyranny of distance and border closures meant that it wasn’t until April 2022 that Nicole was finally able to bask in Townsville’s warmth, and Greg’s long-awaited embrace.

“It was the best! I had been looking forward to that hug for years … and it didn’t disappoint. I’ll never forget how excited and nervous I was when I got off the plane in Townsville,” she said.

The feeling was mutual, with Greg realising from their first hug that he was going to spend the rest of his life with Nicole.

It was during that first visit that he proposed and they subsequently married on Nicole’s parents’ back deck, surrounded by 40 of her closest friends and family, during Greg’s first Canadian visit in December 2023.

Canada's Nicole Harlow and Australia's Greg Taylor tied the knot during Greg’s first Canadian visit in December 2023, after they met online during the pandemic. Picture: Supplied.

They were garbed in matching beanies and sweaters knitted by Nicole.

“After four visits with Greg in Townsville, I moved here in July of 2024 to stay. Moving to the other side of the world has had its challenges, but I am so happy to finally be living with my soulmate,” Nicole said.

“I feel incredibly lucky to get to wake up beside him each day and thoroughly enjoy planning our future together.”

Greg is equally ecstatic, saying “I’m loving life with her. I’m a very lucky man!”.

He offered the following advice to those looking for love: “be kind to yourself and others and make an in-depth dating profile”, while Nicole said, “be yourself, trust your gut and don’t be afraid to step out of your comfort zone”.

Originally published as Townsville’s Greg Taylor and Canada’s Nicole Harlow make a Covid-19 pandemic connection