According to USA Today, 28% of married college graduates attended the same university. This concept does not reflect people who abandoned their studies after finding a significant other, rejecting the common phrase of women going to college to get their “MRS degree,” or attending college to find a husband.
With possibly the most “Athens” love story of all time, Lauren Pasqual, former editor-in-chief of The Post in 2019, met her now-husband while working at Chipotle. Not just any Chipotle, but Athens’s own at 41 S. Court St.
Needing to make an extra penny or two for sorority dues, Pasqual (then Fisher) decided to get a job at the Mexican grill. While working there, she met a coworker, Logan, that she immediately recognized as “totally her type.” Attracted to his shaggy hair and friendly demeanor, Pasqual said the chemistry was immediate.
Pasqual was dating someone at the time when they met, but they broke up the same year she started working.
“Logan immediately swooped in,” Pasqual said. “We were like best friends already. We are complete opposites in every single way – in our interests, in our aesthetics, in our everything.”
Pasqual said despite their differences, they’re similar in all the ways that matter. Reflecting on their wedding, Pasqual said they each wrote their own vows and kept them a secret from one another. Despite this, their vows ended up being strikingly similar, right down to them each commenting on the Pokémon belt Logan wore when they first met.
Of course before a wedding, there has to be a proposal. With Athens being such an integral part of their love story, it was only to involve the city in the proposal. After four years together, the pair returned to Athens and stopped at Donkey Coffee before taking a walk down Court Street.
Just as they passed the place it all began, Chipotle, Logan knelt down and popped the question. The lovebirds were married this past June.
Hannah Pridemore, a 2021 graduate, has a love story to rival that of Pasqual’s in terms of “Athens-ness.”
Having met her significant other, Michael, in Nelson Market, there is no doubt these two Bobcats were meant to be. After working together several times, he finally made the move in Nelson Dining Hall. He asked for Pridemore’s Snapchat, and the rest was history.
At three and a half years of dating, the pair now lives in Boston together. Pridemore said she knew he was the one when they remained together after she studied abroad in Italy over the summer.
“We were on completely separate schedules because I was six hours ahead,” Pridemore said. “I would be waking up as he was going to bed, and I wouldn’t hear from him until almost evening time for me. That was a little interesting, but we made it through – not that I was ever worried.”
Living in Boston together, Pridemore said that definitely cemented the strength of their relationship. The couple has even discussed the possibility of wedding bells and the potential of a future family.
“I cannot see myself with anyone else,” Pridemore said. “I love him so much – he truly makes me happy. Definitely going to get married.”
Regarding Athens, Pridemore said the city will always hold a special place in her and Michael’s hearts. She said their visits there invoke a lot of warm feelings.
“It still feels so fresh, but it’s bittersweet now that we’re not students anymore,” said Pridemore. “It’s like, ‘This is where we went on our first date, this is where we spent our weekends and this is where we lived our junior year.’ Athens will always be very special to us.”
2020 graduate Kailee Missler’s love story is a one more for the Digital Age. Having met her partner, Zarek Bell, on Bumble, she said she wasn’t looking for a relationship in the first place.
The pair began messaging in the late fall, but Missler was wary because she had plans to study abroad in Denmark the following spring. Keeping that in mind, she agreed to get coffee with Bell.
“I’ve never been on a first date like that before,” Missler said. “I met him in person, and I was like ‘oh my goodness, you’re really handsome.’ We really just hit it off. We started dating within three weeks of seeing each other.”
After only dating for three months, Bell was true to a promise he’d made and visited Missler in Denmark.
“We spent every second together for 10 days,” Missler said. “I was like this person, this is definitely my soul mate.”
Now, Missler and Bell are engaged after a proposal at their favorite Athens restaurant, Salaam. In a full-circle experience, the couple left the restaurant at 21 W. Washington St. after their engagement and sat on the same Donkey Coffee couch they’d had their first date on.
With all three of these couples finding love on Athens bricks, they all have advice to share about the matter.
Missler said that it is important not to settle. Her wonderful first date with Bell made her realize the coveted “click” with someone is usually instantaneous.
“When you go on that first date, and you meet that person, you will know that that is someone you’re interested in,” said Missler. “If you’re second guessing, keep looking around.”
Pridemore agreed and said to not compare oneself to others in terms of relationship statuses.
“Just don’t force it,” she said. “It really just kind of happens. It really will happen naturally if it’s meant to be.”
Pasqual, an optimist, said love is all around.
“It’s everywhere,” said Pasqual. “It is something you can find in the most unexpected of places. You can absolutely find your true love at OU, as cheesy as that sounds. It can be just around the corner.”