York Love Stories

Lily & Ryan

"It was my third week at York, and I decided to visit one of my new friends at her flat in Langwith. I was sitting on the table in the flat's kitchen, chatting to all of her flatmates, feeling slightly awkward surrounded by so many people I didn't know.

"That's when someone else's conversation caught my attention - I heard the name of my favourite musical artist, Steven Wilson. Of course, I decided to interject into the conversation.

"As it turns out, the conversation I had overheard was Ryan talking to another of his flatmates about a gig he was going to at the Royal Albert Hall that weekend. We immediately got talking about all things music, and we spent the rest of that evening chatting about our lives, listening to records and discovering a spooky amount of connections between us.

"It also transpired that we were actually on the same course. The next morning we headed to lectures together, and basically became inseparable from that moment on. It was too late for me to get a ticket to the gig, but he bought me home a signed poster that I still have now.

"We became 'official' shortly after that, and we haven't looked back since. We've since bought our first home together in a small village just north of Cambridge. We've adopted three cats who we absolutely adore and spoil rotten. We got engaged just before Christmas 2022, and we are currently planning a fun, festival-style wedding for June 2023.

"We're excited that Helen Sharples, one of our Foundation Year tutors from York, will be one of our guests!"

Ashleigh & Mark

"Mark and I met when friends of mine directed us in a Drama Society show. A wonderful friendship flourished over the course of the rehearsals and we became incredibly close - I remember thinking how amazing it was that someone I had only met a few months ago could understand me so well.

"We decided to use the Christmas holidays to try and take a break from talking every day; we were both hesitant to ruin a great friendship by dating, or getting into a relationship too soon. However, we ended up texting throughout the Christmas holidays.

"On returning to York, Mark invited himself over to my house to 'catch-up' during our first week back and it was then that we decided to, and I quote, 'give this a go'. And give it a go we did!

"We spent the next year and a half, until I graduated, performing in shows together with both CHMS and the Drama Society and exploring York as a couple. We were lucky enough to make amazing friends there too, who were friends to us both long after graduation. Our 'dates' often consisted of visiting York Theatre Royal, or coffee and cake at Gatehouse Cafe! Mark and I now live in Essex together.

"We got married in May 2021, after Covid ruined our plans three times, which was the most wonderful day. We make sure to head back up to York at least once a year, just to reminisce where and when we met.

"York will always have a very special place in our hearts!"

Laura & Jake

"We met at a Rock and Roll dancing society. A group of us decided to go for a few drinks after a class, and we hit it off, becoming friends.

"We then started meeting up more and more with mutual friends. I remember he built a new computer for me - what's not attractive about that?

"We had our first date at the ice rink by Clifford's Tower. I was terrible, but Jake has some hidden ice skating talents and thankfully, he didn't judge my lack of ice skating skills.

"We moved back to York recently after living in London for nine years. It is a special city for us. We celebrated getting a Civil Partnership on the 1st October 2022. We are continually baffled that we have been together as long as we have... it doesn't feel like we have been together for over a decade!

"We still dance together and have found a fun dance class in Bishopthorpe that we go to every week."

Laura & Daniel

"Daniel and I met on 10th October 2004 - our first day at the University of York. We lived in the same flat in Alcuin G Block, and quickly became inseparable. We have now been together for 18 years.

"Daniel proposed to me in the courtyard of Alcuin College on 10th October 2010, and we were married at Castle Howard on 10th October 2014, which is exactly 10 years after we first met.

"The tables at our wedding were named after colleges at the University of York. We still live in York, and have a beautiful little girl who loves to look at the ducks when we stroll across campus."

Samantha & Phil

"My friend and I were invited to the Rose & Crown one evening, where we were introduced to a third year economic student called Phil. We both commented that new boy Phil was handsome, but 'a bit of a misery'

"A couple of weeks later, we were reunited with Phil, who seemed to have had a personality transformation after being freed from exam revision hell! He was a chatty, flirty, charming Sunderland lad who, over a series of nights out, grew more entertaining and confident.

"We spent more and more time together, until the pinnacle of our romance was reached when we shared our first kiss on the dancefloor of Willow, surrounded by bowls of stale prawn crackers, £1 shots and the melody of Rhianna reverberating across the room.

"Phil was graduating in the summer, so we spent the last few weeks getting to know each other and carrying on with our 'whirlwind romance'. 12 years on, he is now my fiancé, and we're currently planning our wedding for next year!

"Our friends from York Uni are still an enormous part of our lives and York will always have a special place in our heart."

Jen & Seb

"I met my now-husband in spring term of first year, whilst working at the same bar. He had graduated the year before but remained living in York.

"We quickly fell in love. Before we knew it, I had (accidentally but wonderfully) fallen pregnant, and our little girl was born the last day of second term in second year.

"We got married the following July. I continued with my degree whilst she was a little baby and didn't take any time off, and regularly had her on campus with me. My husband was incredibly supportive and both he and my little bean were there every step of the way!

"Our family has now expanded and we have two little girls and an adorable cat and dog."

Rob & Rosie

"Rosie lived in a house opposite mine at Halifax. I was absolutely taken by her from the moment I first saw her and I joked with my housemates about marrying her.

"We would see each other occasionally because our friends were dating and I'd always try to get time chatting with her. Eventually, we went on our first date at a vegan restaurant in York. We laughed about how we were refused Coca Cola because it wasn't ethical enough.

"Our second date was meant to be an ironic visit to the Quilt Museum which we found hilarious at the time.

"Nine years later, we have pretty much spent every day with each other since then. We came back to York in October 2020 just after the first lockdown and I proposed to her in a coffee shop we used to visit.

"We got married in August 2022 with some family and friends, including our uni housemates."

Sam & Sarah

"We met at YSTV, and got to know each other through various crazy outside broadcasts and late night editing sessions.

"I'd been there for a few years by that point and supposedly knew what I was doing, but Sarah was an actual TV professional in the US before she came to do her Master's at York, which had me a little bit scared (or maybe it was the fact I liked her - who knows?!).

"After I completely failed to do anything about this for several months, she took things into her own hands one night on the way home and asked me out. After making a bit of a fool of myself, we arranged to go to dinner at a little cafe in the shadow of the Minster, which we finally left a good half hour after closing, when we stopped chatting and realised all the tables and chairs were cleared away. We've been together ever since!

"Work took us first to opposite sides of London, then to moving in together in Manchester, and since then we've bought a house and got married in September 2018.

"We welcomed our son to the world in April 2022. He's even got a YSTV T-shirt - gotta start them young!"

Suzy & Connor

"We were both in Langwith College and met through a mutual friend. Over that month, we went to a lot of the same nights out, until we were holding hands in the back of the taxi.

"We were drunk (love or alcohol? We'll let you decide) when I finally asked "Am I your girlfriend?"From the moment he said "Yes" we have spent almost every day together.

"When he was working the kitchens in the Glasshouse, I would be studying near the bar. It was easy to spend time with him as we are both massive nerds with similar interests. For our first Valentine's Day, he bought me a Rubik's cube. Many thought us weird, but it just gave us another hobby to learn together and challenge each other.

"Shortly after, we found out we share a birthday, so it was like we were fated to share our life together. And what better place to start our lives together than York?

"Since moving in when we relocated for our jobs, we still do everything together. Some things changed: we swapped Rubik's cube competitions for puzzling our way through fitting kitchens and renovating houses, but regardless of what we're doing, I'm happy that he's by my side.

"He's my best friend, my partner, my soulmate; I can't imagine life without him.

"I'll be forever grateful that we met at York and shared so many happy memories together.

"Langwith 'til we die."