Richmond Love Stories: Thursday

A new couple on love at first sight and a local celebrity (blogging) couple you might know...

The latest in our series on Richmond love stories. Read earlier love stories here, here and here.

Cutest New Couple

Sam Mickens, 37, history and geography teacher
Shelly Taylor, 34, certified athletic trainer

How long have you been dating?
Sam: Four months

How did you meet?
Sam: Through my co-worker Margie Sneed.
Shelly: I got a text message [from her] saying, “I’ve got your future husband here!” I looked him up on Facebook.
Sam: Margie dragged me out of class. We have a block on Facebook at school. I had to go on the headmaster’s son’s laptop to log on to Facebook. There was a whole crowd around me, wanting to see. We chatted on Facebook for a while, met and I’ve been looking at her face ever since.

First date:
Shelly: I went downtown to T. Miller’s for an alumni function. He came and met us there.
Sam: I said to myself, “That’s my future wife.”
Shelly: I hadn’t even turned around!

How is this relationship different than the ones you’ve had before?
Shelly: It’s easy. You can say anything to each other. We can argue, but it doesn’t change how I feel.

Most romantic Richmond restaurant?
Sam: We don’t really have one yet. Where’s that place you like with the hot rolls? O’Charley’s.
Shelly: Or The Boathouse. He professed his love for me in front of all my co-workers.
Sam: I did!
Shelly: We still talk about it.

What did you say?
Sam: I said, “This is the only girl I’ve ever loved.” And it’s true.

What’s his or her sexiest quality?
Sam: Everything about her is sexy to me. If I could build a person, it would be her.
Shelly: His smile. It makes me melt. And his confidence. I think that’s very attractive.

Your advice on love:
Sam: (laughs) These are the wrong two people to ask! I’m 37 and she’s 34. It took us a while.
Shelly: I’d say, Don’t give up on it. Never settle. Hold out for the right person. Sometimes, people said to me, you’re not going to find that perfect person. But I did.
Sam: Sneed’s Dating Service [his co-worker]. It works!

What is love?
Sam: It’s unconditional. It’s visceral. It hurts. Love can hurt you to your core. That’s how I knew she was the one. In previous relationships, I’d just walk away. But now, we talk it out.
Shelly: It’s passion. When you have a connection and you want to keep it going and not let it go.

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Cutest Local Celebrity (Blogging) Couple

Sherry Petersik, 27, blogger "Young House Love"
John Petersik, 27, blogger "Young House Love" and senior account executive at Siddall

How did you meet?
John: We worked together at an ad agency in New York.
Sherry: He was an account guy and I was copywriter. We dated in secret. When we announced that we were moving to Richmond, and were dating, everyone was shocked. We met making a baby commercial … and now we're making a baby!

First impression:
John: I thought she was some big celebrity socialite and was too fancy.
Sherry: I was relieved to meet someone my age, who watched the same reality TV and has the same social interactions.

How long have you been together?
Sherry: We've been married for two and a half years and together for four and a half.

What’s your favorite thing about him/her?
Sherry: I love John's sense of humor. He makes me guffaw … really, crack up laughing at least once a day.
John: Her energy, simply put. She has a lot more than I do. Most of the stuff we've done wouldn't have happened without her – the blog, the house.

How did he propose?
John: The short version is, I took her on a hike at Old Rag Mountain.
Sherry: He made me hike six miles to get the ring! I was doing jumping jacks and wearing a sweatshirt.
John: I'd bought the ring in New York, but I wanted to wait till we were settled in Richmond.
Sherry: We'd talked about it before, but it was still a surprise.

What makes your relationship work?
Sherry: We're not the same person. I'm louder and he's more rational. I'm the dreamer, he makes it happen. Together we balance each other. We're not total opposites. We have the same values, religion, and views on money, but different personalities.

Do you have any advice on love?
Sherry: That the person you meet is that person forever. So many people I know, friends, people I meet, want to change their partner. They'll say, 'he's a fixer-upper.' Find a fixer-upper house, not a fixer-upper husband.

Favorite Richmond restaurant:
Sherry: Sushi-O. Every New Year's Eve we go to a new sushi place, that's where we went this year.
John: We love Kuba Kuba and The White Dog.

Your favorite way to spend a day together?
Sherry: Watching TV, going to Home Depot and working on a project.