A woman fell in love with — and later married — a hitchhiker she picked up on the side of the road.
Maddy Kacmarcik, 27, met Travis Becker, 26, during a trip to Byron Bay, Australia.
While driving home from a night out with her friend, Maddy noticed Travis and his friend walking along the roadside, trying to hitch a ride. She pulled over and offered them a lift, and the four of them ended up spending the rest of the evening together. Maddy and Travis, who is from Sydney, instantly hit it off.
However, in the excitement of the night, the pair forgot to exchange phone numbers. Determined to reconnect, they eventually tracked each other down on Facebook.
Two weeks after their chance encounter, Maddy and Travis went on their first official date. Eighteen months later, they were engaged.
Now, after four years of marriage, the couple says they couldn’t be more “grateful” for the serendipitous way their paths crossed.
Maddy, who is from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, reflected on their story:
“The way we met is wild in itself. I just knew I was going to build a life with him. My marriage is my most prized possession.”
“If he’d had one more drink, or if I’d taken a different route, we might never have met,” Maddy said. “It makes you very grateful.”
American-born Maddy was studying abroad in Byron Bay, Australia, when she met Travis in January 2019. Both were heading home from a night out when their paths unexpectedly crossed.
“I was driving us home from our night out,” she recalled, “and he and one of his friends were trying to catch an Uber.”
The couple, pictured holding hands during their wedding ceremony, went on their first official date just two weeks after meeting. Eighteen months later, Travis proposed — and the rest is history.
“We pulled over to pick them up,” Maddy recalled. “They realized we were American, and we quickly found out our Airbnbs were in the same area. I remember turning to my friend and saying, ‘He’s really cute.’”
The four of them ended up heading back to their Airbnb, where they spent the evening playing cards and chatting.
“We were talking about all the things we had in common,” Maddy said. “We were so engaged in conversation that I didn’t even get his phone number or social media. I couldn’t remember his last name — all I knew was that he was an electrician from Sydney. I went straight on Facebook trying to find him.”
Travis proposed in June 2020, and just seven months later, the couple tied the knot in an intimate courthouse ceremony in Milwaukee in January 2021.
Maddy eventually tracked down Travis’ friend on Facebook and sent him a message, asking him to pass along her number.
The next day, she and Travis met up again, and just two weeks later, they went on their first official date.
“We haven’t stopped talking since,” Maddy said.
By April 2019, Maddy had moved in with Travis’ family. When COVID hit, the couple relocated back to Byron Bay for a while before ultimately returning to the U.S.
Maddy admitted she hadn’t told her dad right away how she met Travis, but now her family couldn’t be happier for the couple.
Maddy says people are still “shocked” when they hear their story for the first time.
“You get reminded that it’s a crazy way we met. We’re so lucky.”
Travis added, “I feel like my life would be completely different if I had blinked or looked the other way that night. I don’t believe in coincidences. I pinch myself every day. I couldn’t have imagined meeting my wife like this, not even in my wildest dreams. The odds were 0.0001%, and yet it happened.”
“I feel like my life would be completely different if I had blinked or looked the other way that night. I truly believe nothing in this world is a coincidence. I pinch myself every day,” Travis said.
“One more beer, or talking to someone just long enough for me to end up standing on the corner with my mate trying to get an Uber at three times the normal price — so I thought, ‘Let’s try hitchhiking,’” Travis recalled. “Within about a minute, someone shouted out of a car and pulled over. It was two girls. My mate and I were like, ‘What the—let’s get in!’”
“Little did I know it was my future wife behind the wheel. We hung out that night, and it felt like we had known each other for years — our souls were in sync, and we just talked all night.”
