Stephanie & Marc
Our Story
His Story
I had heard my friend Julia name-drop her hometown friend “Dales” when we were undergrads together at Northeastern. I had even seen Stephanie pop-up on Julia's Instagram stories here and there over the years, but we never met. Once when they were visiting Copenhagen together, and I had messaged, half-jokingly, that the two should take the ferry north to meet up in Norway. I moved back to the States mid-pandemic, and that fall I saw on Julia's Instagram story that she and that same cute brunette friend were roller-skating together in Somerville. Curiosity finally got the better of me—I clicked on her witty username "DillyDallyDaly" and was met with many, MANY photos of her with her young niece and nephew, which I assumed to be her kids. Needless to say, I was a bit surprised when days later, Julia suggested that I message Steph. Unemployed and living with my parents, I didn't expect much, but these were weird times after all, so I took a chance and texted her.
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Steph was immediately kind, charming, funny, and honest, and I was shocked at how easy it was to talk to her for hours. Over the next few weeks, we connected about holiday plans, international travel, and our many hobbies, and lamented about COVID, social distancing, and a contentious election. We talked about shows we liked, made Spotify playlists for each other, and had a Zoom drink together where I, admittedly, was nervous that it was too good to be true.
Her Story
It was fall 2020 and I had decided to try dating again but this time with a fun twist: during a global pandemic. I had a few online dates – drinks over Zoom, a picnic in a park, a distanced walk, when I decided I was ready for a break. That's when I got a text from Marc. Shoot. One of my oldest friends, Julia, had told me about this guy Marc that she knew from college. He had recently moved back to Massachusetts after living abroad and she asked if I'd be interested in meeting him. After a very short search online where I found an Instagram page with zero photos but got a look at him by screenshotting and then zooming in on his tiny profile picture, and most importantly with the stamp of approval from Jules who told me he's a really nice guy who is well-traveled, super smart, and has a sense of humor that reminded her of me, I said yes. And I had briefly forgotten about it until I got his text.
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"Ok, Steph, you can do this. Small talk. We'll see this through and then take a break from dating." But after two days of texts back and forth I had this refreshing realization: I really enjoy talking to this guy. And so we kept talking...a lot. We were learning about each other, sending lots of well-timed, well-chosen gifs (the senses of humor did, in fact, align) and discussing our pandemic exposure comfort levels (ah modern dating). The things Julia said in describing Marc were all true, but more so there was something about him that was both exciting and also felt like I had known him for a long time. After about a month of talking, and one Zoom date, I was ready to meet this guy.
Our Story
We decided on a COVID-friendly first date, a masked walk down the Somerville bike path followed by dinner and drinks at an outdoor, fire pit table at Bow Market. The chemistry that was felt over text, surprisingly and reassuringly translated to in-person. We talked, laughed, ate good food, and were happy with the reveal when the masks came off. Distanced dates, turned to non-distanced dates; going to get COVID-tests together, playing pickleball, cooking delicious meals, and then going for a long weekend away on Cape Cod where the relationship really started to take off. Before we knew it, we were introducing each other to our friends and families, Marc moved to Somerville, we were spending holidays together, and in 2022 we moved in together. In spring of 2023, we made it official—we adopted two kittens, Mabel and Frankie. In October, Marc dropped down on one knee during a trip to Plum Island in celebration of his birthday, and Steph was thrilled to say yes.
