Husband's Surprise Valentine's Trips Put Everyone Else to Shame

Elaine Houghton doesn’t know where her husband Ron is taking her for Valentine’s Day until they get on the plane. (Photo: Channel5)

So you think you have a romantic plan for Valentine’s Day this year? This guy has been killing it for the last 12 years with the gift of travel.

Ron Houghton of Liverpool, England, surprises his wife, Elaine, with a Valentine’s Day jaunt every year – and she doesn’t know where they’re going until they sit on the plane. Their destinations have included France, Latvia, Belgium, Venice, Germany, and Egypt.

Ron and Elaine, aged 73 and 56, have been doing this for the 12 years since they met. Ron’s trick is having the Liverpool airport staff black out the destination on their boarding passes, so Elaine has no idea where they’re going until the flight attendant onboard announces it.

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Ron, a retired prison officer, does give Elaine some packing advice based on the weather, but as Elaine told The Daily Mail, “Even if he says it’s warm I still pack a few jumpers, because I don’t trust him at all.”

The couple are being featured on a local reality show. Ron says the first time he tried surprising Elaine with a trip to Dublin, it almost backfired at the airport because Elaine is afraid of flying. But once he persuaded her, she loved the idea as much as she loves him.

“Ron is a real romantic,” she told The Daily Mail of when they first met. “He took me for my favorite chip-shop tea and ice-cream parlor once a week. He was so thoughtful. “Even now, he makes sure I always have fresh flowers. He opens doors and treats me like a real lady.”

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Of all the places they’ve gone, Elaine says her favorite has been Latvia, even though it was freezing and snowy.

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