Pittsburgh Love Stories

When we put the word out that we were looking for love stories, we never imagined how many we’d receive. Not only did we receive so many, they were full of beautiful, deep stories of love, romance and never-ending bonds. We hope you enjoy these Pittsburgh love stories.

“A Clark Bar Proposal”




by Michael Gillett 






I’m not good with keeping a story short… but I’ll give it a try. This is how I caught my wife’s eye over forty years ago.

I met my wife in the fall of 1977 at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh. We hadn’t had any classes until the beginning of our second year and I was immediately smitten—she was not. One day at lunchtime, she was off to get art supplies at Top Notch on Penn Ave. and I was off to get lunch at Wiener World. I saw her on the other side of the street and jaywalked to catch up to her and walk with her. She was polite, but obviously would have preferred to be left alone (think of me as looking like a scruffy hippie art student).

As we crossed 6th Street, the wind blew my ever present tweedy cap off my head. I instinctively grabbed for it. Unfortunately, I ham-handedly punched her square in the eye. Knocking out her contact in the middle of the intersection. I took her to the Duquesne nurses where the AiP students had dorms then, who sent her to the ER who then sent her to an eye specialist (they feared I might have detached her retina—I hadn’t.

That was a Monday and on Wednesday we had our first date (lunch at Lum’s and we saw George Burns in “Oh, God!” (very appropriate because that was what she said when I hit her) at the theater at the Chatham Center.




It was a sympathy date. I felt so, so bad, I wanted to make it up to her… so she conceded to lunch and a movie to stop me from moping about the school. She was hoping it was a one-and-done. All I cared was that it was a date. This was before stalking got such a bad name.

An aside, she would later first kiss me on the Incline (though I would have preferred the horizontal),the Monongahela Incline, on the second date? Again, Lum’s.

Three months to the day after I had hit her I proposed during lunchtime at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral on Sixth Ave. (it was open and quiet and I was a poor art student – in every sense – and my Lum’s budget was dry)… and not being able to afford a ring, I proposed using a “Clark Bar.”

One month later (she had to give it some serious consideration), she accepted.

We married two years to the day of our first date. We are still going strong with two kids and two grandkids.

On another side note, she had to see an eye specialist recently, who, after examining her, asked, “Did you ever have some trauma to this eye?”




“What are you grateful for?”

by Jenn Yarris 

My boyfriend moved to the Pittsburgh area in 2012 for family business with intentions to return to his beloved state of Texas as soon as he could (he does not tolerate Pennsylvania winters too well).
We met in 2014 and dated for a few months with some bumps and hiccups leading to some time off but eventually found our way back together almost a year later. I wasn’t making things easy for him, so much so that he put the ball in my court to ask him to be “official.” (Do other couples still do this?) Am I the only one that doesn’t think it’s official until you say the words, “will you be my boyfriend or girlfriend?”




We refused to say the “L” word until we were totally ready and felt our relationship was on a stronger level than before. Anyway, it was a night out in downtown Pittsburgh. We were walking around the Christmas Market in Market Square because every couple in the Pittsburgh area has to go ice skating at PPG and visit the Christmas Market or else it isn’t a Pittsburgh holiday season. We saw a large blackboard pillar in the middle of Market Square titled “I’m grateful for…” with blank lines and chalk for people to share what they are thankful for. My [now] boyfriend filled in the first blank line he saw with my name and a heart, took me in his arms, and sweetly explained how he is incredibly thankful for me. It was so sweet I didn’t know how to respond at the time but took the chalk and filled in the next blank line saying “I love you.” His face lit up. He found another blank space and wrote, “I never stopped loving you.” I’m not sure how many people we grossed out in Market Square because then we were kissing in the middle of the square, forgetting anyone was around us. I asked him to be my boyfriend and since then, we have been going stronger than ever.




“A VFW Hall Wedding by the Duquesne Place Bridge”

by Claudia Misage

I actually picked Jim out at the Allegheny County Airport where he was attending aeronautical school. That was the Fall of 1962. We got engaged on 8th Ave. in Homestead in May 1963 and married in Holy Trinity Church in Duquesne on August 10, 1963. Our reception was at the VFW hall located by the Duquesne Place Bridge. It’s not quite Pittsburgh, but when talking to someone and they ask, “Where are you from? and I answer “Pittsburgh.” And they ask what part then I know for sure they also are from the area. Jim started working for Westinghouse in East Pittsburgh In 1967 and would you believe almost 51 years later is still working for Westinghouse in Austin, TX. We love being here and loved growing up in the Pittsburgh area. Go Steelers, Pirates and Penguins!

“Cat & Smiles: A Love Story”

by Carlos Gasca Yanez





This morning Cat did not wake up chuck up. Chuck got up early. He had an assignment, he had to write his love story. It is due today. Knowing that he can easily get lost in his own creativity he thought he should do something about it now. It was not as if it was going to be difficult or chore, he loves thinking about her.

My life is not my own. When your life is not your own it is full of uncertainty. Yet, despite all of the chaos this entails, I could not stop thinking of her or give up hope that I would see her again or hear her voice. We met four years ago and despite the space between us in time and distance I did not forget her.

She walked into the meeting room at the City County Building on the fifth floor. It was our first session of the Mayor’s Civic Leadership Academy. She definitely caught my attention. I hoped that I might get to know her better as she intrigued me. As it turned out the academy time flew past and I did not learn as much about her as I would have liked.




Day’s and weeks past since our graduation. I finally, got the courage to ask her if she would have a coffee with me to talk about business, she is in marketing and I am in marketing too. It was my excuse. She kindly agreed to share a bit of her time with me. I showed up with my son Johnny and enjoyed a wonderful cup of coffee with her. That is why this little outdoor table and cafe is one my favorite spots to enjoy a latte.

I followed that up with another coffee invitation at Phipps and then one more at Caffe D’Amore. It was there that I realized that curiosity may have gotten the cat. I really began to like her. Her intentions in life I learned are very similar to mine. Johnny and I once again thanked her for her time and went home.

I think we are both a bit geeky civic-Ly and about data. Intuiting that, I invited her to a Carnegie Library sponsored seminar in using census data. Way to go Carlos! Really impressing her with your “date” choices. It was not really a date as such, maybe she would think it was? She sat next to me. I commented on her green drink. She offered a taste. I tried it and at that moment looked into her eyes. I was done, it only took 1/125th of second.

Alas, that would be the last time I would see her for a couple of years. More chaos in my life and I end up living in Toronto. One summer day I play “Calling in Love” a song I used to listen too when I thought about her, knowing it was not the right time. I decided to open an Instagram account and asked if I could follow her. She said okay. My account is public I did not assume that she had the same feelings for me.




August 11th I had a terrible night. I woke up looked at my insta account and there she is with her beautiful smile. It made my heart jump. She was going on a road trip. Coincidence or not it did not matter it made me happy. I immediately posted this photo.

I opened my insta account so she could get to know a bit about me. I guess dreaming that she is interested. Everyday I post something to say hi! I am here and I think you are great. I also have a Medium account and every week I write an “article” about something or kids story, but really they are love letters disguised as articles. I don’t know if she reads them or if she even likes my writing style. I think she writes very well and is probably more detail oriented than I am. I often hit publish and then spend a week correcting my typos 🙂

So, 1,283 Instagram posts and over 38 Medium articles later and I still can’t stop thinking of her. I am very happy that our lives crossed paths. I hope that my love story becomes our love story and that it continues…Happy Valentines Day!



“An Intercontinental Romance”

by Camila Alarcon

We missed each other for a year while we  both were living in Pittsburgh. Life and graduate school kept getting in the way of our first date. After graduating from Carnegie Mellon I moved to Iowa without ever having the chance to meet Chuck. Five months later I took a spontaneous trip back to Pittsburgh to visit friends. We finally had our first date at Tako. After a year and a half of texting, I met the love of my life and we have been together ever since. Life, however, took me back to my birth country, but our love has not wavered. Thanks to sacrifice, savings and frequent flyer miles we see each other every two months. We have enjoyed Steeler games, Pirate games, Penguins games and fed real life penguins at the aviary. Pittsburgh has been the setting of our love story. Our Guatemala to Pittsburgh commute will be ending soon, when I finally move to Pittsburgh at the end of the year.



“A Jazzy Pittsburgh Love Story”

by Kristen Butler

Hello. My name is Kristen Butler and my true love is Jim Mullett. Here is our Pittsburgh Love Story:

I met an intriguing man at my local hangout spot and we immediately clicked. We both had a lot in common, especially a love of live music. I am a huge Jazz fan so when the Pittsburgh JazzLive International Festival began in June of 2011, I contacted this man to see if he could join me. We had a delicious dinner and spent the entire evening getting to know each other better after the festival. We now happily share a home with a beautiful pup and we have grown so much closer to each other after six-and-a-half years together. We truly enjoy each other’s company so we like to visit several restaurants and live music venues throughout town regularly, we also love travel the world as well as spend quality time with our dog in our cozy home. We attend Pittsburgh JazzLive Festival every summer and we celebrate our anniversary for an entire weekend during the event each year. It is an extremely special occasion that we look forward to enjoying together every year!



“An Online Match Gone Perfectly, Magically Right”

by William Ura-Lewicki

My husband and I met on July 16, 2015. We talked on Facebook and we met up. We met at the Point where we talked and talked for hours, he invited over for dinner the next day. I knew from that moment that I really found my soulmate and planned to spend the rest of my life with him. We love spending time with each other going on walks by the river. On April 29, 2016 (his birthday) I ask him to be my husband. Of course he said yes and little over a year later, on May 13, 2017 (my birthday) we got married. I’m the happiest man on the face of the Earth that we are now Jason and William Ura-Lewicki and united as one forever.

“A When Harry Met Sally Style Love Story”

Photo by PittsburghSkyline.com

My husband and I were born 10 hours apart in the same hospital. Our mothers were one room apart. We met and fell in love our senior year of high school. We broke up after graduation and went our separate ways for five years until our friend Brett showed Brian a picture of me. Brian wanted to see me again. We were engaged a month later. We immediately started a family, Andrew was born 10 days before our first anniversary. We were a happy young family and decided to expand. We had problems and agreed to stop. Almost immediately we found out I was pregnant. We also found out because of me the baby could have problems with her heart. I had fetal echocardiograms on her heart every 3 weeks for the rest of my pregnancy. Deanna was ironically born 15 days before our fifth anniversary. Our children beautiful children have now grown and Brian and I have been happily married for 23 years on March 25th.

 Happy Valentine’s Day, Pittsburgh!




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