It was supposed to be the start of a new chapter, but instead of joining their belongings in Western Australia, Ebony Anderson and Eurwyn Jones have been left stranded in Darwin.
The bulk of their possessions were collected by movers on January 19, the day before WA Premier Mark McGowan announced its border reopening would be delayed indefinitely.
Ms Anderson, who is 20 weeks pregnant with the couple's first child, said her stomach dropped watching the announcement late Thursday night.
"You just feel sick, it's horrible and it's frustrating," she said.
The couple has been planning to move back to WA since March 2021 and have been forced to change and re-change their plans several times as WA's borders tightened against the NT.
All Ms Anderson's family live in WA and they want to raise their kids on the west coast.
They've bought a house in Perth, which settles on February 18, but now it doesn't look likely they'll be able to pick up the keys.
Fingers crossed for G2G approval
Ms Anderson and Mr Jones have applied for a G2G pass for the two of them, hoping to enter WA via SA in the next few weeks.
For now, Ms Anderson said they're "living out of a suitcase" in a friend's apartment as their previous leave had expired.
The couple, who are travelling with their dogs Maisy and Dobbi, need to drive to WA because their pets can't fly into Perth.
Originally, Ms Anderson was hoping they could drive into Kununurra, but under WA's new border rules this entry point was only for "transport, freight and logistics and border community residents".
This means that, if approved, they've had to drive 3,500kms down the centre of Australia before quarantining in a safe location in WA.
If they don't get their application to enter WA approved, Ms Anderson said they "would essentially be homeless".
Then Friday threw another curveball at the couple: Ms Anderson tested positive to COVID-19, which means they now must wait for her to recover.
Ms Anderson said she has booked doctor's appointments in Perth, which will now have to be delayed or rescheduled in Darwin.
"I should be nesting right now and making my house a home, reuniting with my family."
NT Chief Minister 'understood' WA's motivation
Despite the ongoing uncertainty, Ms Anderson said she felt fortunate that she was able to see her family six months ago.
Her fiance Mr Jones, who is from the UK, hasn't been able to see his family for nearly four years.
"I have to stay positive; I don't have a choice."
NT Chief Minister Michael Gunner said he "understood" the WA Premier's motivation in delaying the reopening of its borders.
"If Mark [McGowan] feels that WA is not ready, I can completely understand the decision," he said.
"WA has to make the best decision for them and their health system and to make sure they can cope with [coronavirus]."
Mr Gunner said eventually, all jurisdictions would need to learn to live with COVID.
"COVID is globally endemic and we are going to have to manage COVID [but] the point is to be able to [open borders] where your health system can cope with it," he said.
