Love’s A Winner
We all know romance doesn’t always triumph. But five Bergen couples share accounts of when, for them, it did.
Perhaps it’s being in the right place at the right time—and maybe in the right mood. Conceivably it’s about being “ready”—or does the universe have a plan for each of us? In any case, the month of Valentine’s Day is an annual invitation to reflect on love and how we found it, even if that finding process involved some waiting, a missed bus or the wrong restaurant. Here, five Bergen couples tell their real-life stories of persistence, hesitation, uncertainty, luck—and love triumphant.
AN INSTANT CONNECTION
“I met Vicki on July 11, 2006, my second day at a new job with Herman Miller in New York. It was around 3:30 p.m., and after hours of meeting new colleagues, someone introduced me to her. She spun around, said a quick hello, flashed a bright smile and these unbelievable blue eyes, and rushed off to an appointment—all 4’11” of her, moving like a burst of pure energy. I went home to my roommate that night and said, ‘I just met the woman I’m going to marry. If she’d say yes, I would do it today.’
“The next day, some new coworkers invited me to a bar. It wasn’t my scene—I didn’t drink, and I usually went straight to the gym—but I asked who would be there. When they mentioned Vicki, suddenly the bar sounded like a great idea. She walked in late (a usual occurrence, I have come to learn) with a date. But the way she leaned into our conversation, her body language, her curiosity—I thought, ‘Maybe I actually have a chance here.’
“Nothing happened that night. But the following week, our team traveled to Toronto for a conference, and I knew this was my moment. That Tuesday evening, the company hosted an event at Casa Loma, the famous castle. I got there early, learned the layout, found the gardens, the drinks, the entrances—all so I could welcome her like I knew the place by heart. When Vicki and a group of colleagues arrived, I greeted them, asked who wanted a drink, and her hand went straight up. That entire night, we talked, laughed, explored the castle and completely lost track of time. We even missed the group bus back and shared a taxi—though she had the driver drop me off early so we wouldn’t be ‘seen together.’ We were colleagues, and we were also 12 years apart—she was 39, I was 27—and I wasn’t sure what the rulebook was for whatever this thing was quickly (and hopefully) becoming.
“The next night—one week since our introduction—was our formal awards dinner. We saved seats for each other, and when the wine stopped being served, I told her I’d find her a glass at the bar outside. There was a piano nearby, and I played a little for her. Then we played pool. We went back to my room, where I showed her a small book of poetry and photography I had made. Nothing else happened; it was two people connecting. Eventually she drifted off to sleep in my arms. I carried her to bed, tucked her in and we slept.
“The next day, at the airport heading home to New York, she pulled back a bit—unsure if this could or should really be anything. I said, ‘Just give me one shot. Let me come to your place tomorrow and cook you dinner.’ She said yes. And we never stopped dating after that meal. We married in July 2008, moved to Glen Rock in September and welcomed our first and only child in December of the same year. Now—19 years since that fateful summer Tuesday introduction at 1177 Sixth Ave.—we’re still here, raising our son and our Labradoodle, still choosing each other every day. It’s not quite a fairy tale, but it’s our version of happily ever after.”
—Matt and Vicki Tedesco, Glen Rock
WRONG PLACE, RIGHT TIME
“I met my husband-to-be on my 18th birthday. I was living in Rockland County, N.Y., at the time, and he was in Glen Rock. My best friends and I went out to celebrate, but we had directions to the wrong restaurant in Paramus. We were in the parking lot when I realized we were not at the right restaurant. The timing, however, was right—Harris was there too! I approached him first to get directions to our original destination, but it just made sense to stay. At the end of the night, we talked and said goodbye, and he asked for my phone number. He called me, and we eventually went on a date. He had such a great sense of humor, a Corvette and he was very cute! We dated for a year before he proposed to me. We now have two grown children and five grandchildren. Harris and I have been returning to the restaurant where we met, El Cid in Paramus, every year on our anniversary. We just celebrated our 49th year together in October. He is the love of my life.”
—Elizabeth and Harris Kobb, Oakland
HIGH SCHOOL PALS
“We both attended Clarkstown North High School in Rockland County, N.Y. I was a year older than Mike, and we were best friends. He was hopelessly in love with me, but I just didn’t think of him that way. We eventually lost touch with one another when we left for college, but we reconnected on Facebook in 2008. About four years later, I reached out to Mike when his mother passed away, and we would meet up shortly after. Mike was in an unhappy marriage at the time and soon separated from his wife. Eventually, we went on a real date to AOC East in the West Village. (We loved it and made it a tradition to go back once a year.) “Once we started dating, time went fast, and before I knew it, Mike was slowly moving bathing suits and other random items into my apartment. It was not long before I had to dedicate closet space. I had designed my closet for handbags and shoes, so when I sacrificed some space, that’s when I knew he was the one. He proposed to me on the steps of our high school, where it all began, and we got married in September 2017. The thing I love about our relationship is that we truly enjoy each other’s company. As my father-in-law always reminds us, you have to really like the person you are with. And that’s true for us.”
—Robyn Schneider and Michael Fleischman, Upper Saddle River
PERSISTENCE PAYS OFF
“I was single when a friend and I stopped at Waterloo Sue’s in Hackensack, a restaurant/bar. As we walked in, I noticed two girls near the bar ordering food, and I immediately was attracted to one of them. They were standing next to a chalkboard that had food specials, and she started erasing numbers from one of the items: She made a $29.95 dish into $9.95, and I started to laugh. We went over and started to talk to the girls, and I found out her name was Victoria and she owned a title company in Hackensack.
“The next day, I started calling all the title companies asking for a Victoria until I final found her. I told her I liked her and wanted to ask her out, but she declined, saying that her friend actually liked me. Through my connections, I found out where she lived and showed up at her home. I told her we needed to talk, and we went out for coffee. We laughed a lot, and afterward she realized she had to talk to her girlfriend because she finally wanted to go out with me. Victoria’s friend said OK, adding that she didn’t like me much anyway because I didn’t read enough. [Laughs.] My very beautiful wife Victoria and I have been together for 24 years and married for the past 21.”
—Louis and Victoria Tedesco, Township of Washington
PERFECT MATCH
“I met Russell 11 years ago on a dating site. I was newly separated and tired of people trying to connect with me, so I decided to search myself. I scrolled through the site and found Russell, who was already divorced. I had certain criteria that my match had to meet, and he checked all the boxes. He had his own checklist, which I apparently passed as well. We messaged briefly online and then we spoke on the phone and he asked me out. I lived in Teaneck, and he lived in Leonia, so he suggested we meet at the cocktail lounge at the Glenpointe Marriott, which was halfway between us.
“I can’t describe it, but we felt so comfortable with each other right away. It truly was special. We just recreated our first date exactly 11 years later (on Nov. 22, 2026). We even sat in the same booth! We got married Jan. 21, 2021, in our apartment. It was in the middle of COVID, with two other couples wearing face shields/masks on the night before Russell was going for pre-op testing for open-heart surgery the following week—but that’s a story for another time! We are now happily married, making memories together and making each other laugh—a lot!”
—Randi Peters and Russell Ash, Hackensack
