We Asked 14 Couples (and Throuples) on the Streets of NYC to Share Their Love-at-First-Sight Stories
A moment of honesty: Dating can sometimes feel like a real time suck. A hellish landscape of awkward getting-to-know you first dates that feel like the same bad job interview played on repeat. But many singles keep trudging on with the goal of finding that one soul mate (or two!) they can settle into their happily-ever-after with. To give us some hope for the future and to celebrate our Couples (& Throuples) Issue, we hit the streets of NYC to search for true love in the wild. And the good news is that the findings of our ~ very scientific ~ study will melt your cold, frigid heart.
These 14 couples and throuples told us how they met, how long they’ve been together, and what makes their relationship work. And their stories might finally convince you that true love does, in fact, exist.
Josh, 29, marketing producer; Bari, 28, marketing account supervisor
Years together: 1
Bari: We worked together, and then he moved to L.A.
Josh: We were always dating other people. But when I left...
Bari: ...I realized I’d fallen in love with him.
Josh: It was a “you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone” kind of thing.
Hai, 33, director and photographer; Eve, 24, photographer and model
Years together: 4
Eve: We met when I posted in a New York City alumni group and Hai responded. We started talking from there.
Hai: I had a job that brought me to Japan and China while she was studying abroad in Hong Kong.
Eve: He was going to invite me to hang out...but I jumped the gun and invited myself. I skipped two weeks of school to travel with him. I had only known him for a few months.
Hai: She still passed her classes!
Brandon, 36, Collin, 39, vintage clothing store owners
Years together: 13
Brandon: We met in a hot tub. I was naked.
Collin: I was not. We had broken into a condo.
Brandon: We were going to have a huge party after we eloped to Hawaii. But then the pandemic happened. So the party is still pending.
Collin: It gets harder the further away it gets.
Brandon: The theme will be “outdo the bride,” with everyone in wedding dresses.
Collin: Someday!
Amara, 26, dancer and fiber artist; Elon, 42, director, choreographer, dancer, and music producer
Years together: 4.5
Amara: We knew of each other because we work in the same field, but we officially met in person at a club.
Elon: We used to go out dancing a lot.
Amara: We just got married in December in Costa Rica.
Elon: It was amazing. It was in the jungle.
Amara: Under a waterfall.
Elon: We love waterfalls.
Myles, 28, UI designer; Raven, 26, customer success manager
Years together: 1.5
Raven: I would get a lot of messages on Tinder that were pretty basic, like, “Oh, that’s so Raven.” But he sent me an excerpt of the poem “The Raven.”
Myles: By Edgar Allan Poe.
Raven: And I was like, That’s refreshing. That’s how he hooked me.
Myles: I knew as soon as I met her that she was very much herself. There was no facade.
Nick, 38, supply chain officer; Marc, 29, creative director and artist; Richard, 38, IT company owner
Years together: Nick and Richard: 13; Nick, Richard, and Marc: 3
Marc: We have our relationship all together, then me and Nick, me and Richard, and Richard and Nick. We’re juggling four relationships.
Richard: A multitude of relationships!
Nick: And we all have different skill sets. Rich is really tech-savvy, Marc is our creative, and I feed them.
Marc: He’s an amazing cook.
Richard: He puts everyone to shame.
Alex, 26, brand consultant and meme maker; Jessica, 26, fashion editor
Years together: 1
Alex: We ran into each other at a bar and it was super loud. I was like, “Let’s go to the bar a couple blocks away, where it’s quieter,” and we stayed there until 4 a.m.
Jessica: Just talking.
Alex: She farted when we were having sex one time, like three months in.
Jessica: Oh my god!
Alex: It was a little *fart noise*.
Jessica: Now the whole world’s going to know.
Sandy, 30, makeup artist; James, 35, UX designer
Years together: 6
James: We got engaged after dating for seven months.
Sandy: Then we got married and told our families later.
James: This was the first relationship where I didn’t want anyone to put their opinions in my head. That’s what made it go faster.
Sandy: I know it’s cliché to say he’s my best friend. But he is—like, for real.
Chinmay, 24, software engineer; Rhea, 24, health care consultant
Years together: 2.5
Rhea: We went to high school together. We were physics class lab partners.
Chinmay: My mom chaperoned her eighth grade field trip.
Rhea: Yeah, I met his mom long before we started dating.
Chinmay: She approves.
Nina, 31, advertising and content strategist; Nicolette, 36, fashion and beauty consultant
Years together: 6
Nicolette: We met at a mutual friend’s birthday at Metropolitan Bar, a gay bar inBrooklyn, more than six years ago.
Nina: Classic.
Nicolette: And we eloped a little over a year ago in the bar where we had our first real date, Hotel Delmano. It was just the two of us, two witnesses, a photographer, and a rabbi.
Dave, 32, insurance portfolio manager; Caroline, 30, author and style influencer
Years together: 9.5
Caroline: We met through mutual friends in college. They brought us on a double date.
Dave: We got married in November.
Caroline: It’s great—it doesn’t feel any different. We just got tea at thePlaza Hotel. I’ve always wanted to go.
Dave: We do date nights. We’re staying over so she can pretend she’s Eloise.
Leah, 31, pharmaceutical rep; Graham, 33, lobbyist
Years together: 10
Leah: We have a dog. We have a house.
Graham: That’s commitment enough.We don’t adhere to convention. She knows what she wants. There’s no waffling.
Leah: And I picked you.
Graham: Exactly. We’re together because we want to be.
Nathaniel, 45, influencer; X-EMMA, 21, artist, drag queen and model
Years together: 1.5
X-EMMA: I thought he was a douche when we first met, after meeting on Grindr. But then I realized East Coasters are just mean. And he grew on me, like a fungus.
Nathaniel: When we started dating, we posted a TikTok together poking fun at our age difference, and it blew up.
X-EMMA: People are so interested and so angry about our age gap.
Nathaniel: And maybe they should be, because there are a lot of jerks out there, a lot of sick people. But at the end of the day all I can worry about is us, and we just get along.
X-EMMA: But I also think that kind of outrage underestimates me as a full-grown adult. I’m nobody’s fool. Certainly not his.
Trevor, 30, CX coordinator; Kelsey, 32, photographer
Years together: 1
Trevor: She was very hot on our first date.
Kelsey: Temperature wise.
Trevor: And the next day we found out she had Covid.
Kelsey: He didn’t end up getting it.
Trevor: I still haven’t.
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