4 Love Stories That Share Valentine’s Day Spirit

At last, it’s here. You’ve made your reservations, you’ve planned the rest of the evening, you’ve picked out the perfect gift. Finally, you can say it to your special someone: Happy Valentine’s Day!

Love is worth celebrating, so don’t let that spirit get lost under all the layers of red tissue paper and chocolate. Every year, we here at BERGEN magazine ask you, our readers, to share your own love stories with us. We are flooded with stories of love at first sight, long-term courtship, chance encounters and much more. And this February was no different.

Here are four of our favorite love stories from 2025:

Susan and Mike Colella, Township of Washington.

“We both played sports for Montclair State. Soon after our first encounter, Mike showed an interest in me, and he approached a mutual friend to see if she could be a matchmaker. But at the time I was in a relationship, and I said I could only pursue friendship, nothing more. As the years went by, we played ‘relationship ping-pong.’ When I was out of my relationship, Mike was in one. When Mike was out of his relationship, I was in one.

“It took three-and-a-half years for anything to begin. We were heading into our last year of college and training camp, and it was summer. I walked into a sports bar with 10 male friends, my brother and my soon-to-be ex. We sat down, had some wings and then headed out. On the way out this guy caught my eye. I rounded the turn, stopped my brother and said, ‘I think I know him.’ He said to go back and say hi, but I was too nervous. I walked out bummed that I did not go back, a little disappointed in myself.

“The next evening I received a call, and the caller said, ‘Do you know who this is?’ I said, ‘I think it’s Mike.’ It was. It took him all summer to track down my phone number, and he was hesitant to call. Mike was giving his friend an update on his mission to track down my number, and at that moment, I walked in. He looked at his friend and said, ‘That’s her!’ After that, he knew he had to call; it was just too odd of a coincidence. We talked for some time and agreed to go out on a ‘group date.’

“Our first date was with friends at a college bar that stank of stale beer. It was the best date I have ever had! The next day I broke up with my boyfriend without hesitation and told my mom I’d met the guy I was going to marry. She rolled her eyes at me as if to say I was young and dumb, but I knew this was special. We were soulmates.

“Mike and I have been married for 23 years and created a family. We’re still each other’s best friends. It’s funny how fate and some chicken wings can bring people together.”

Pema Chen and Ken Suchoski, Tenafly.

“My husband and I met on Bumble, a dating app. I asked Ken to go skydiving, and while we didn’t go as a first date, we went for his birthday a few months later.

“I thought he was cute, and I liked that he kept texting me and even suggested a phone call before we met. We met at a Vietnamese restaurant, Mamak, for our first date. The funny thing is, I thought Ken didn’t want to pay for the meal because he left the check next to him for quite a while. So I offered to pay. Turns out he didn’t want the date to end and was worried we’d get rushed out of the restaurant if he paid. We repeat our first date every year for our anniversary.

“Our most dramatic date was our fifth. We went to The Smith, a booth-style restaurant where everyone is crammed together like sardines. I had a couple of drinks and because of my low blood pressure, I blacked out and fell over onto the lap of an elderly lady next to me (luckily, a retired nurse!) and ended up getting taken to the hospital. I thought Ken was going to leave me in the hospital, but he stayed overnight and then took me home and made me tea. That’s when I knew he was a keeper. In 2025, we’ll have been together 10 years.”

Rebecca and Michael Sebahie, Maywood.

“Our story feels straight out of a movie—set in the most unexpected of places: a boxing gym inside Crunch Fitness in Paramus, where we first crossed paths in March 2016.

“I admired Michael from afar as he trained with laser focus, never imagining he noticed me. Little did I know, he had been sneaking glances my way too. That same month, I heard through the grapevine that he was competing in the NJ Golden Gloves tournament in Asbury Park. With excitement (and maybe a bit of nerves), I made the trip with a friend to watch him compete.

“After his win, I went to congratulate Michael and our coach. His shocked expression when he saw me there was priceless—especially since we had never exchanged a single word before. The very next day, we started messaging on Instagram and decided to meet for ice cream at the Dairy Queen in Rochelle Park.

“When Michael asked for my address to pick me up, he thought I was pulling a prank. It turned out that we lived just two blocks apart, but the way our street was divided placed us in separate towns. From his bedroom window, he could actually see my house!

“That meeting at Dairy Queen was the beginning of something magical. On May 2021, our five-year anniversary, Michael proposed in the beautiful Ringwood Botanical Gardens, and we tied the knot in November 2023 at Perona Farms in Andover. Fast-forward to today—a cat, two dogs, and countless memories later.

“It’s been an incredible journey, and I can’t wait to see what the future holds for us.”

Darius Wheeler and Robert Bannon, Leonia.

“I, born and raised in Ridgefield Park, had just released a new album entitled Unfinished Business. On it was a song called ‘I Think He Knew.’ The song became a Pride anthem, and the video went viral—it was about parents accepting their sons. Well, all the way in Detroit, Michigan, Darius Wheeler was planning and booking acts for Motor City Pride, Michigan’s largest Pride event, with over 60K attendees a year.

“After Darius saw the video, he reached out to my publicist, Angela Thomas, to inquire about me going to Detroit to perform. As Angela wrote in an email to me, ‘He seems to be the real deal. You should go!’ Well, I went. Darius set me up with a car service, accommodations—he rolled out the red carpet. When I met him, there was as an undeniable spark. Darius has an energy about him that is a magnet. At first you see his tall, beautiful self, but then you talk to him and see his spirit, heart and care for the ones he loves, I am incredibly lucky!

“After I performed my set of music, Darius asked him to grab a quick dinner at a local downtown Detroit staple, the Checker Bar. That dinner turned into four hours of walking around downtown Detroit, talking about life, dreams and aspirations. It was a little over a year later that we officially became a couple.

“On New Year’s Eve 2023, Darius asked me to be his forever person in Christmas Village, blocks away from our first date walking downtown. Where did we ring in the New Year? Why, the Checker Bar, of course! Our New Jersey wedding is set for 5/25/25.”

Want to tell us your love story? Tag us on Instagram @bergenmagnj to share it with the world!