Founder of Love Lust or Bust
April Hope
April Hope is a leading voice in global dating safety, international romance, and the fight against romance and visa fraud, built not from theory, but from a life spent living it.
← New here? Start with the Start Here page
My Story
I've traveled to nearly 100 countries and lived about a year each in England, Nigeria, Thailand, Jamaica, Egypt, Morocco, and India, and of course the United States, where I was born.
After a serious accident left me unemployed and I'd lost nearly everything, I started investing in crypto, at the time, it felt like my only option to rebuild. Instead, a group of strangers running a fake investment company stole my entire crypto portfolio. I remember the exact feeling of realizing it was gone: devastation, and the strange, disorienting work of having to start over from nothing.
I've also been married. After his green card came through, my then-husband divorced me. I don't dwell on the details publicly, some things are just mine to keep, but I will say this: even the relationships that don't last teach you something you carry forward.
Despite red flags and a harsh, unfair stereotype about younger Moroccan men, my partner today has been an amazing, devoted provider for years. We are deeply in love, and he's proven it every single day since. That's exactly why I do this work: not to make you afraid of love, but to help you walk toward it with your eyes open.
A Global Perspective, Earned the Hard Way
Few people in this space have actually lived the life they're advising on. I have. Nearly 100 countries. Years spent immersed in eight different cultures, not as a tourist passing through, but as a resident learning the rhythms of daily life. Along the way, I've met countless happy, thriving mixed couples in every one of those countries, real proof that this kind of love works, and works well, when it's genuine.
Speaking, Press & Industry Recognition
I've been honored to share this work on some of the biggest stages in the travel industry:
- Featured speaker at the New York Times Travel Show at the Jacob Javits Center in NYC, one of the largest travel events in the United States, drawing over 200,000 attendees annually, where I spoke directly on international safety and protecting women as they explore the world
- Part of the team behind the Women's Travel Fest, a landmark global event celebrating women who travel with independence and intention
- Team member for TravelCon in Austin, Texas, Nomadic Matt's premier travel conference
- Member and featured attendee at major industry events including TBEX, World Travel Market (WTM), NY Travel & Adventure Show, Travel Unity, and Travel Massive
An Ongoing Commitment to Mastery
I don't just rely on lived experience to guide the women I work with, though I have more of it than most people could imagine, spanning nearly 100 countries, five continents I've lived and traveled across, and every kind of heartbreak and triumph in between.
I hold a certified Life Coach credential from the Life Coach Training Institute.
Beyond that, I have completed extensive education, training, courses, webinars, and certifications specifically focused on scam and fraud awareness, through some of the leading organizations in the field:
- Alison: Certified in Fraud Detection and Prevention
- The SCARS Institute: Certified through their Scam Survivor's School curriculum on romance scam psychology, manipulation tactics, and recovery
- Be Connected: Specialized training in identifying, avoiding, and reporting cryptocurrency scams
- AARP Fraud Watch Network: Numerous completed webinars, trainings, and courses covering romance scams, cryptocurrency fraud, and consumer protection
I stay immersed in this field constantly, not occasionally, so the guidance I give you reflects the latest tactics scammers are using right now, not what worked five years ago.
A Foundation Built on Real Care
Before this work, I spent seven years as a case manager for people living with HIV and AIDS, and I'm also a certified art therapist. Both roles taught me the same lesson I bring to every woman I work with today: how to sit with someone through fear, stigma, and uncertainty, without judgment, and help them find their way to clarity and strength on the other side.
A Community of Thousands, and the Conversations That Changed Everything
For over ten years, I've run the Love Lust or Bust Facebook group, a community I created. I've also been a member of Women Who Love Moroccans and other similar groups for more than five years, eventually stepping into the role of admin for Women Who Love Moroccans, a space of over 3,000 women navigating relationships with Moroccan partners.
Somewhere along the way, something shifted. Women in these groups started reaching out to me directly, texting, sending DMs, calling me, sometimes talking for hours, working through their fears and doubts about their relationships out loud. I answered every message I could. And somewhere in the middle of all those conversations, I realized something about myself: I didn't just love writing articles and running a community. I loved this. The real, one-on-one conversations. Listening closely enough to understand what a woman was actually asking, underneath the question she thought she was asking. Helping her find her own answer, rather than handing her mine.
That's not something a course taught me. It's something thousands of real conversations did, one woman at a time.
If you're sitting with questions of your own right now, I'd be honored to have that same kind of conversation with you.
Why This Work
I built Love, Lust or Bust because I know exactly what it feels like to sit in that uncertain space between hope and doubt. I've been there, more than once. My mission isn't to make you suspicious of every person you meet. It's to help you tell the difference, calmly, clearly, and with real tools, between a genuine connection and a calculated one.
You deserve to love boldly and safely. Let's make sure the love you find is real.