From Hot Tub Encounter to Love at First Dance

Welcome to another edition of our "Love Letter"! We are thrilled to continue sharing heartwarming love stories from couples in NYC. Today, we have the pleasure of introducing you to Shiv and Brian, a couple whose journey began with one approaching the other at a college pregame. Read on to learn how who went up to who, how their night progressed, and some unexpected and sweet relationship milestones from their past five years together.

Shiv and Brian's love story began during their college days in Ann Arbor at Michigan University…

So, how you did you two meet?

Shiv: We were at a party with mutual friends. All my friends were there. I saw Brian kind of standing in the corner and I went up to him. I said, “Hey, have we met before you look familiar?” To my surprise he immediately said that we had, and I wasn’t quite expecting that to work but it did and I said “oh nice…”

Brian recalls exactly where he first laid eyes on Shiv. How could he forget.

Brian: We met in a hot tub about a year and a half prior to the party. I was in her home town that night seeing mutual friends. I remember seeing her and thinking to myself how beautiful she was, but at the moment didn't have the courage to approach her. Was glad she came up to me a full year and half later at this chance encounter party.

Once Brian mentioned having met a while back, Shiv remembers.

Shiv: Once he said that, I realized that he was in the hot tub that night. But was quiet and I was with all my friends, so I didn’t totally notice him.

What was your first night out like after you re-met at the party?

Brian: We went to a club shortly after, and I’m in the middle showing off my moves, then some shots came into play. Then I saw her dancing with some of her friends and asked her if she wanted to dance with me. She took me away to the middle of dance floor. We started dancing and shared our first kiss in the middle of a sweaty the dance floor.

We asked Brian to honestly grade his dance moves that night…

Brian: Effort — 11 out of 10. Actual Skill —Maybe a 3 out of 10.

Shiv: I was impressed with the effort not the actual skill. Honestly, I don't really remember dancing, but I remember thinking that the lights of the club were really pretty in his eyes.

When was the moment that you fell in love?

Shiv: I felt the moment where I was like, I could definitely date this guy was actually on our first date. We were talking about our experiences in college because we were both seniors and hadn’t known each other from freshman year. Anyway, he was telling me how he dropped out of engineering school. And I was like, you know, my studies are really hard. Being pre med was hard and I just felt like I respected how humble he was. And I felt that he was someone who was gonna own up when he made a mistake and it made me feel close to him because he was open about his failures on a first date, which most guys don't do.

What’s your most memorable moment together?

Brian: Before we really started dating, we were coincidentally seniors on Spring Break in Miami together. And we got a hotel room together and we hung out that night and watched the sunrise sitting on Miami Beach - completely sober. We really didn't go out that night. Truly, we felt so comfortable with one another and I'd never felt like that before - it was clear to me that I wanted her to be my partner. Here we are five years later…

Shiv: I think mine was in 2019 — a year after graduation. I moved to Philadelphia. He was in Ann Arbor, so there was kind of a moment where I was like “oh, I don't really know if this relationship is gonna work.” We had no plans to move to the same place kind of thing. And we decided to take a trip to meet up. In the middle of the trip, my phone got pickpocketed. I was kind of upset, but I was’t going to let this ruin it. And we went to this cave bar and watched a soccer game. Really in the moment, hanging like that. We're walking back and we were standing over a bridge. And Brian said, “I would marry you right now”. And it was like a year and a half into dating. And I was just so taken back because I was feeling that in the moment, but I wasn't expecting anything out of it. And then he said that and I thought, okay, this could be a long term thing for me.

What is one thing you’ve learned from your partner, that you hadn’t before meeting him?

Shiv: Don't take the moment you're in for granted - it’s more about enjoying the journey than getting to the destination. When I am very much a person who wants to plan everything, Brian often stops me, takes me back a moment, and says something like “Hey, let's go wander in this neighborhood for the morning and see what we find...”

Meet Cutes NYC: Shiv and Brian's love story is a testament to the power of chance encounters and the unexpected paths that love can take. Their journey serves as a reminder that sometimes, the most extraordinary relationships emerge from the most ordinary moments.

Thank you for joining us on this love-filled journey! We hope Shiv and Brian's story has touched your heart and inspired you to embrace the unexpected in your own love story.

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