A woman who married her holiday romance after just one month of knowing him says she doesn’t regret a thing.
Natalie Badura, 34, fell for security guard Muhammet Çelik, 26, when she met him at a cocktail bar abroad– despite the pair barely being able to speak the same language.
After weeks of communicating on Google Translate, the couple quickly realised their connection was real, but time wasn’t on their side.
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Natalie’s visa was about to expire, and neither of them wanted to face the prospect of being apart.
They explored every possible option to keep her in Turkey legally, from applying for visa extensions to checking different permits, but nothing seemed to work out fast enough.
With the clock ticking, they made the bold choice to get married – the pair officially became man and wife in a simple $100 ceremony earlier this year.
“Looking back, it all feels like a whirlwind – crazy and magical all at once,” Natalie, who is originally from Seattle, told What’s The Jam.
“We had no idea how it would work out, but sometimes love just doesn’t wait for perfect timing or perfect plans.
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“It was a leap of faith, and I’m so glad we took it. There are no regrets, just happiness.”
Natalie had lived in Spain for three months before meeting her now-husband on December 1, 2024.
Wanting a fresh start somewhere new, she initially decided to move to Valencia after her lease ended back in the States.
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But problems with her documents meant she had to leave the country while sorting them out.
So she decided to spend a few weeks in Turkey – where she met Muhammet on a night out in Bodrum that she’ll never forget.
She said: “We went to this cocktail bar because we wanted to hear a DJ and have some good drinks.
“I was with two guy friends and Muhammet was working as security.
“At first, he was too shy to talk to me because he didn’t really speak English, and I didn’t speak Turkish.
“One of my friends went outside to smoke, and that’s when Muhammet started chatting with him, trying to figure out how to get my Instagram without talking to me directly.
“The next morning, I woke up to a message from him on Instagram asking, ‘Where did you go?’
“I didn’t see it until much later, and when I finally replied, we started chatting back and forth.”
The pair eventually met up in person, and using Google Translate, they quickly formed a strong bond.
She said: “I could feel something special straight away.
“Even though we barely spoke, there was this amazing energy between us. We were laughing so much, just passing the phone back and forth to translate.
“It was honestly like something out of a movie.”
The couple researched every possible visa extension and legal route to keep Natalie in Turkey, desperate to avoid the heartbreak of separation.
Then Muhammet made a bold move.
Natalie said: “He just looked at me and said, ‘I will marry you. I want you to stay here with me.’ I thought, ‘Wait, what? We’ve only known each other for a month!’
“But I knew I felt the same.
“It was crazy, but it just felt right.
“Usually, I’m the kind of person who needs my space; I don’t like being around someone 24/7.
“But with him, it is different.
“I feel comfortable, like I’ve known him forever.”
Natalie had to fly to Ankara to get the necessary documents, including proving she wasn’t already married.
The pair tied the knot at a courthouse the day before Natalie’s visa expired on January 15, 2025.
She said: “It was stressful, but we didn’t give up.
“I was determined to make it work.
“When we finally went to the municipality with all our documents, the lady was shocked we’d done it all in two weeks.
“We signed the papers in a room with two judges, then went to a café with friends.
“We had a mini cake, Turkish tea and lots of laughs.
“I wore a white buttoned shirt and some dress pants – we weren’t spending a fortune, it was about love, not the money.”
When Natalie told friends and family about marrying someone she’d only known for a month, she was met with plenty of surprise – but also a lot of support.
She said, “Everyone was shocked at first, but they were really happy for me.
“My closest friends were all super encouraging, and my mum told me, ‘As long as he treats you well and it’s what you want, I’ll support you.’
“It’s my life and my happiness.
“I’m not here to follow anyone else’s timeline or expectations.
“Sometimes you have to trust your gut and take that leap, no matter what anyone else thinks.”
Now happily married and living together in Bodrum, Natalie and Muhammet are building a life full of adventure.
The pair are trying to grow their TikTok account, and the security guard is even trying to break into the modelling industry.
Natalie now says taking the risk was the best decision she ever made.
She added, “Sometimes life surprises you in the best way when you least expect it.
“I married my holiday crush after just one month, and I couldn’t be happier.”
