What to know
- Couple 1: Gigi M. and Tim F. met at culinary school, Gigi joked he approached her because she’s a ‘cutie,’ and the couple’s been together for three years, and married for two weeks.
- Couple 2: Kelly I. and Lan S. met during Kelly’s international exchange, where they did a language exchange, and gave each other’s hearts to each other, too.
- Couple 3: Harman K. and Juli Y. were originally coworkers, but found love with each other through common interests and thoughtful dates and communication.
- Couple 4: Juan L. and Eleane B. swiped right on Tinder, and Juan knew from the first date that she was ‘the one’ for him. Now, the couple’s been together for three years and a half, and married for eight months.
Some met in school. Others found each other at work, through a language exchange or with a swipe on Tinder.
Their stories span two months to nearly four decades, but the four couples NOW Toronto spoke with had similar ideas about what makes love last: comfort, communication and a willingness to keep choosing each other.
For this edition of This Is Dating Now, we asked couples how they met, when they knew the relationship was serious and what they believe keeps two people together.
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They met at culinary school
Toronto residents Gigi M. and Tim F. were classmates at culinary school. But turns out, they weren’t just cooking dishes, but simmering love.
“He approached me because I’m cute, I’m a cutie,” Gigi joked.
For their first date, the pair decided to go to the Pride Festival together, and kept hanging out from there.
“We hang out every day, and then three years later, we’re married,” Gigi said.
How did the pair know they were the one for each other?
For Tim, it’s all about comfort.
“It’s all about the feels and how comfortable you are with your partner, how you guys cooperate to do tasks and provide love to one another,” he said.
For Gigi, it’s about seeing him as a caring person for his loved ones.
“I see how caring he is to his family, so that’s a point too. And he’s very caring to me as well. And I think yeah, how comfy you are to your partner,” she said.
They also share similar values, stating they did not want to kiss on the first date, and in fact waited four months out of respect for each other.
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Their wedding was just two weeks ago, how do they plan to make it last?
For Tim, it’s all about prioritizing himself first, to then be able to open up his heart to Gigi.
“Before you have a relationship, you have to be comfortable with yourself first. You should prioritize yourself first, and when you know yourself, you find your love. That’s what I did,” he explained.
For Gigi, it’s about spending quality time together.
“If you have things in common with each other, like we both work out, then we go together,” she said.
A language exchange became a 39-year marriage
While longtime married couple Kelly I. and Lan S. met during Kelly’s international exchange. The couple share the tutor trope, but not tutor and student, tutor-tutor.
Kelly went to China as an exchange student, and wanted to learn Mandarin. So, she reached out to the lead of the international students (also Lan’s roommate) to connect her with someone to learn the language.
That’s how she met Lan. She taught him English as he taught her Mandarin.
“We were each other’s tutors,” she joked.
That was 40 years ago. Now, the couple’s even married for 39 years.
They knew they were ‘the one’ for each other when they couldn’t stop talking, Kelly explained.
“We just talked and fell in love,” she said.
Now, the couple’s visiting their son in Toronto before their return home in China.
‘We’re coworkers’: Some meet their loved one at the workplace
Toronto residents Harman K. and Juli Y. were originally coworkers, but soon became more than that as they became romantically involved.
“The attraction was equal, but it’s funny because she wasn’t sure if I liked her, and I wasn’t sure if she liked me,” Harman explained. “But I’m not gonna stop myself from experiencing joy, so I was like ‘screw it,’ and I just told her that I liked her. Then, she said, ‘me too.’”
The couple’s only been together for two months, but they keep choosing each other due to the quality time they enjoy together.
“I think our values align a lot. We’re very compatible in the way that we communicate and the things that we like to do, how we like to spend our free time,” Juli said.
Harman also appreciates the intentionality in their relationship, and their communication.
Juli recalled their first date, appreciating the multitude of surprises he planned for her that day.
“He actually surprised me with like he baked me fresh cinnamon rolls because I said I was craving some, so he surprised me with that, and then we went and got pasta. Went on a really long walk, thrifted, went to the park, ended up watching the baseball game, drank a bottle of wine, watched the sunset,” she told Now Toronto.
For them, the date finished with a kiss.
The pair agrees that for them, to make a relationship work, it requires effort.
“It’s not supposed to be easy. It’s supposed to be work. Choosing the person, you know, it can be hard,” Harman said.
“People think it’s supposed to be effortless. Everything’s supposed to align, but it does take work-a lot of work,” Juli added.
For some, dating apps aren’t all bad – A Tinder date turned into marriage
For Toronto residents Juan L. and Eleane B., their swipe right ended up being the best decision they’ve ever made romantically.
Once they matched online, they quickly got to talking for two weeks and set up their first date at a bar (and kissed): and matched IRL too.
“I knew on the first date [she was the one,]” he said. “I texted a friend of mine, and I said, ‘I found her. It’s this girl.’”
“It took like three months for her to know that I was the one,” he joked.
Now, the couple’s been together for three and a half years, and married for eight months.
Eleane B. advised other aspiring couples that to make a relationship work, you need to work on yourself, and listen to your heart.
