Naydeline Mejia

My move from the US to Paris has come with a lot of benefits, but finding love has felt impossible

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When I visited Paris for the first time in 2022 during my inaugural solo trip, I fell in love with the city instantly.

Sipping my chocolat chaud while reading Hemingway’s “A Moveable Feast” at the legendary Café de Flore, enveloped in the charming Haussmannian architecture the city is renowned for, I whispered to myself: “I could live here.”

It wasn’t until two years later that I would finally make the move abroad after being accepted into a graduate school program and subsequently quitting my dream job at a big-time magazine to fulfill my newest dream of living in Paris.

Although moving to France from the US has come with plenty of benefits, such as a slower pace of living and a healthier work-life balance, one part of my journey has significantly suffered: my love life.

For a city that markets itself as the City of Love, I have found building a meaningful connection with someone in Paris nearly impossible.

The language barrier has made it difficult to connect with potential partners deeply


Woman reading book outside at cafe in PAris

I can speak French, but I still feel a language barrier on dates.

Naydeline Mejia



As someone with an intermediate level of French, I knew when entering the Parisian dating scene that language would be a hurdle, especially when going on dates with non-native English speakers.

During dates with people who didn’t feel comfortable speaking English or didn’t speak the language very well, we’d mostly converse in French — I found banter to be difficult and less fluid.

My personality also took a hit. Instead of my usual, flirty self, I felt more reserved because I couldn’t express myself fully in my third language.

Even during dates where the other person did have a good command of English, I felt as though we lacked a certain access to one another as we weren’t able to express ourselves in our mother tongues.

As a result, I convinced myself our connection would never reach deeper than center ground.

I’ve had some great dates, but intimacy doesn’t always translate into romance


Woman smiling in PAris under umbrella

For me, romance has been hard to find in Paris.

Naydeline Mejia



Another barrier to finding love while dating in Paris has been the differing dating customs.

In my experience, it’s not uncommon for French partners to want to go on regular romantic dates and engage in public displays of affection, like holding hands, even if we’re only seeing each other casually.

As someone who is used to clearly defined relationship boundaries and labels, like “friends with benefits” and “exclusive,” while dating in the US, I find it a bit disorienting to receive forms of intimacy usually reserved for a serious relationship from a non-romantic partner.

I have also observed that the “what are we?” conversation is not really common in France. After a few successful dates, it’s often assumed that you and your dating partner are exclusive. In comparison, in the US, a conversation around exclusivity usually precedes becoming “official” with someone.

The lack of a clear conversation around labels has often left me feeling confused about where I stand with potential partners or the relationship feeling unbalanced.

I have considered moving back to the US for a better chance at love


Woman walking next to building in Paris

I’m not sure if I’ll find love in Paris.

Naydeline Mejia



While I can’t say my dating experience was that much better when I was living in the US, I do consider moving back home to New York to increase my chances of finding a meaningful partnership.

In my experience, there are many benefits to dating in your native country — from speaking the same language to upholding similar dating rules and customs, and, oftentimes, having shared experiences that can only be witnessed by someone from your hometown.

At the same time, some of the most beautiful love stories defy cultural and language barriers. I would be remiss not to try to work past the difficult parts of dating abroad in my search for a partner who makes my heart flutter long past the honeymoon stage.

Nevertheless, while concurrently navigating a seemingly never-ending dating pool, I have also been enjoying my alone time in this fairy-tale city.

In her essay, “Why Are All the Lonely Girls Going to Paris?,” writer Jenna Ryu argues that perhaps inhabiting this so-called City of Love is not about finding a storybook romance, but celebrating the beauty of solitude, especially as a young, single woman.

I have never felt more sure of myself and in love with life than during these past two years living in Paris. The love I would often reserve for a romantic partner, I have been pouring onto myself — and that has made all the difference.




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As a travel planner, I rarely recommend Paris or Rome. Instead, I swear by these 5 European gems.

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Cinque Terre is one of my favorite cities — or, more accurately, my favorite collection of five villages.

Nestled along the Italian Riviera, Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore are accessible only by train, ferry, or foot.

Each has a distinct style, and hikers flock to this region to enjoy the beautiful scenery.

Vernazza, my favorite village, is the gem of this region. I love wandering the cobbled streets to shop, snack, and explore. You can also visit the Castello Doria or the church of Santa Margherita d’Antiochia.

In the summer months, tourists sunbathe on the beaches of Monterosso or take a dip in the sea. For a history lesson, visit the remains of Castello Fieschi or the Church of St John the Baptist and the Capuchin Monastery.

In Manarola, take some time to watch locals cliff-jump into the marina. I also suggest taking a wine tour through the town to sample some local specialties. Be sure to try Sciacchetrà, a sweet but strong dessert wine produced in Cinque Terre.

Riomaggiore is also home to a castle and churches dating back to the 13th and 14th centuries. The center of the town is great for wandering, shopping, and eating.

Corniglia is probably the quietest of the five villages. There, climb the Lardarina staircase for beautiful views of the coastline or take a boat tour to fully enjoy the area’s beauty.




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AOC and Paris Hilton team up on a bill targeting AI deepfake porn

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Paris Hilton and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are taking on AI-generated deepfake porn.

The hotel heiress and businesswoman traveled to the Capitol on Thursday for a press conference with the New York Democrat and Republican Rep. Laurel Lee of Florida to promote the Disrupt Explicit Forged Images and Non-Consensual Edits Act, or DEFIANCE Act.

The bill would create a civil right of action allowing victims of AI-generated deepfake porn to sue the creators and distributors of those images.

“While these images may be digital, the harm to victims is very real,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “Women lose their jobs when they are targeted with this, teenagers switch schools, and children lose their lives.”

Hilton spoke emotionally about having an intimate video of her shared widely online when she was 19.

“People called it a scandal. It wasn’t. It was abuse. There were no laws at the time to protect me,” Hilton said. “There weren’t even words for what had been done to me. The internet was still new, and so was the cruelty that came with it.”

“What happened to me then is happening now to millions of women and girls in a new and more terrifying way,” Hilton added.

Though Elon Musk’s X and the AI chatbot Grok were not mentioned by name at the press conference, the push to pass the bill comes after the AI agent began generating sexualized images of people, including minors, in response to prompts from users on X. The AI images spurring widespread concerns and even bans on Grok in some countries.

X has since stopped the Grok account from generating sexualized images of real people when tagged on the social network — though you can still do so using the app. Elon Musk, the owner of X, has said that anyone “using Grok to make illegal content will suffer the same consequences as if they upload illegal content.”

“There is an explosion of AI generating explicit images of children,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote earlier this month in response to news coverage of the Grok-generated images. “And it’s not just actresses. Across the country, more and more teenage girls are becoming victims of deepfake harassment. Congress must step in and pass my DEFIANCE Act to ensure victims can seek justice.”

Social media companies have largely been shielded from being held legally liable for illegal content shared on their platforms thanks to Section 230 of The Communications Decency Act of 1996, though the provision has come under fire from both Republicans and Democrats in the last decade.

The DEFIANCE Act passed the Senate last week by a voice vote, meaning no senator objected. It remains unclear when the bill will come up for a vote in the Senate, though Speaker Mike Johnson told The Independent recently that he’s “certainly in favor of it.”

In May, President Donald Trump signed the “TAKE IT DOWN Act” into law, which includes a provision requiring platforms to take down AI-generated revenge porn. That provision doesn’t fully take effect until May 2026.

This isn’t the first time Hilton has come to Capitol Hill to advocate for a piece of legislation.

In both 2021 and 2023, she came to Washington to push for the passage of a bill aimed at combating abuse in residential treatment facilities for troubled teens.




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A map of the western hemisphere showing the flight path of Air France 191 which departed Bengaluru and diverted to Ashgabat.

Passengers flying to Paris spent 21 hours stranded in the remote nation of Turkmenistan

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Air France passengers were delayed by nearly two days after they were diverted to Turkmenistan.

Monday’s Flight 191 was already running 21 hours late when it departed Bengaluru, India, shortly after 11 p.m., according to data from Flightradar24. It was supposed to land in Paris about 10 hours later.

However, four hours into the journey, the Boeing 777 started descending. It made a U-turn to land in Ashgabat, the capital of Turkmenistan, a sparsely populated nation in Central Asia.

Registered as F-GSPI, the jet is 26 years old. The cause of the diversion has not been confirmed, though The Independent reported that the plane suffered an engine issue.

Passengers then had to wait nearly another whole day to continue their journey to Paris. Turkmenistan is ruled by what Human Rights Watch has described as a totalitarian, hereditary government and is one of the world’s most politically secluded countries.

Air France did not respond to a request for comment sent by Business Insider.

Given that the flight departed from India, there were a number of Indian nationals on board, who were hosted by the nation’s consulate in Turkmenistan. It is unclear where the majority of the passengers on the flight stayed during their time in Ashgabat.

Ultimately, a new aircraft was dispatched to collect the passengers. Flight-tracking data shows another Air France Boeing 777 left Paris on Tuesday morning and arrived in Ashgabat after a five-hour flight.

It spent about three hours on the ground before departing Turkmenistan shortly after 1 a.m. That’s nearly 22 hours after the passengers first arrived there.

The plane then landed in the French capital at 3:23 a.m. on Wednesday. Along with the departure delay, that’s 43 hours later than passengers initially expected to get there.

Flight-tracking data appears to show that the original plane is still on the ground in Ashgabat as of Thursday morning, three days after it landed there.

This wasn’t the first time that Air France has sent a plane to rescue stranded passengers.

In May 2024, one of its Boeing 787s was flying from Paris to Seattle when a burning smell was detected in the cabin.

The pilots declared an emergency and diverted to Iqaluit, the capital of Canada’s Nunavut territory. A different flight was canceled so a Boeing 777 could take the passengers to New York.




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