What to know
- Couple 1 (Erinn & Zatk): They met at VELD music festival, where an instant connection and a magical first night set the tone for their relationship. Vulnerability and openness are their keys to staying close.
- Couple 2 (Sierra and Joshua): They met at a bar in Waterloo when Sierra jokingly approached Joshua. Their whirlwind romance quickly led to a trip to Thailand, showing that shared adventures and a willingness to embrace the fun can strengthen a new relationship.
- Couple 3 (UV & Annie): They met at a house party in Ottawa, feeling sparks from the very first moment. Years later, they credit kindness and weathering rough patches, especially while travelling, for their lasting bond.
Some people think parties are just for flings, but these couples prove that real love can be found in the most unexpected places.
Their stories span from four months to two and a half years, but the three couples Now Toronto spoke with say that despite an unconventional love story, as long as couples stay vulnerable, kind, travel and have fun together, their love will continue to blossom.
For this edition of This Is Dating Now, we asked couples how they met and why they keep choosing each other.
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They met at VELD, and a year later, are celebrating their anniversary at the festival
Erinn and Zatk met at VELD last year and fell in love.
“That’s why we’re here again today,” Erinn told Now Toronto.
“I think really what made the connection was our first weekend here together,” Zatk said.
The couple shared that they kissed at the end of the night at VELD, with Zatk saying, “The music gets into your soul,” and Erinn replying that the “fireworks going off” set the mood.
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After a year together, Zatk says the key to staying together is being vulnerable.
“You know when you know. But honestly, if you’re in the same environment where you feel vulnerable, and then you meet someone like that, we’ve just been solid,” he said.
They met at a bar
Sierra and Joshua met at a bar in Waterloo.
Sierra, originally from Mississauga, made her way up to Waterloo for a party and was on a trolling mission.
“I went up to him because I wanted to skip the line in the bar, and I was trolling him with that TikTok that’s like ‘Who said I love you first’ that you do with a random guy. I did it on him,” she told Now Toronto.
The video might’ve been a joke, but their relationship surely isn’t.
After only four months together, the pair have already taken their first vacation together, recently visiting Thailand.
Joshua says the trip helped him “get a feel for what that married life’s gonna be like.”
“You’re around them all the time,” he said.
For Sierra, she loved every minute with him, and returning home made her sad.
“We were there for three weeks, but I felt like I got so accustomed to being with him that when we got home, I was really sad,” she said.
But the couple obviously believes in a forever future together, with Joshua recently getting a tattoo of her eyes.
‘I opened the door, and sparks [flew]’: The house party that brought the couple together
Ottawa couple UV and Annie travelled to Toronto for VELD, and their shared journey just reinforced their bond.
“We had a rough patch before, but I feel like travelling put us back together. If you can survive the travelling, then you’ll get so much closer together,” Annie told Now Toronto.
But before coming to Toronto, the couple met at a house party.
“It was my house. I opened the door, and sparks [flew], like cartoon s**t. Immediately, I knew. Then we went out together, and I was like, ‘You’re coming home with me.’ He did, and he never left,” Annie said.
Since that first meeting, UV took Annie to a Level One Game Pub for their first date.
“We played the goat simulator game, and I almost peed myself,” Annie joked.
“You move around as a goat, destroy stuff; I feel like it’s a little trauma bond,” UV laughed.
After living together and being in a relationship for the last two and a half years, Annie says that she believes that UV is “the one” because of the kindness they share.
“No matter how hard it gets, we still choose kindness. That has kept us together, and will keep us together,” she said.
