Valentine’s Day is a perfect time for couples to reflect on the early days of their romance. In that spirit, we asked our audience to submit stories of how they met their significant other. Here are a couple of our favorites:
‘It was the flat tire that changed my life’
Gregg S. Magee, Sr. and Irene T. Magee
Married for over 22 years
I have always loved a good fairytale. However, until it happened to me, I didn’t believe they actually came true. I believe the story of how we met is just that — a fairytale with a very happy ending.
It was Oct. 11, 1998, and I was leaving the student union from a Sunday evening Zeta Phi Beta Sorority meeting at the University of Southern Mississippi. Gregg had been at the Danforth Chapel praying, which is what he did almost nightly while on campus.
As I entered my car and started to drive off, I noticed my car was shaking a making a loud noise, so I pulled over. I was having a blowout at the exact moment Gregg was jogging by.
He stopped and changed my tire while many other guys just stood and watched. As a gesture of gratitude, I offered to cook dinner for him, but he declined. He was preparing to give his first sermon on Oct. 18, 1998, and he felt it might be a distraction.
Over the next couple of weeks, we continued running into each other. I continued to offer dinner, so he finally agreed.
On Oct. 29, 1998, we had our first date. I prepared dinner for us, which was pot roast with carrots and potatoes, broccoli casserole, homemade macaroni and cheese and rolls, all topped off with strawberry delight pie. The rest is history.
We have now been married for over 22 years and have five beautiful children. We work together in ministry, where he is the pastor of Empowerment Ministries Christian Center, and I am the executive pastor.
Don’t let anyone tell you fairytales don’t come true. I say it was the flat tire that changed my life.
‘Going to that Halloween party was one of the best decisions I have ever made’
Casey Kelley and Matthew Lizana
Together for over three years, engaged since 2020
Matthew and I met when we were in high school together (early 2000s). We weren’t very close, although we had many of the same friends. We kept in touch through Facebook over the years, just a random “like” or comment here and there.
Every year, Matthew would throw a Halloween party and invite me, but I never could go for one reason or another. He invited me again in 2018. I had no plans, so I went that night after getting off work.
I was dressed as a vampire, and he was a character from the video game “PUBG.” He was wearing short shorts, a sleeveless turtleneck, crew socks and a beanie. I guess it was the short shorts that did it because that night was the start of us; we just didn’t quite know it yet.
We hit it off instantly, but he left for a military work trip a few days later. We talked the whole time he was gone.
He returned a few weeks later and surprised me while I was at dinner with my friends, which he had arranged with them beforehand. He brought me flowers and asked me to go out with him. Of course, I said yes.
We got engaged in 2020 (he took my son to dinner before he proposed and asked his permission) and then had a baby and bought a house together in 2021. We’re now getting married in November. Going to that Halloween party was one of the best decisions I have ever made.