Students and professors talk about the love they found in Athens RYAN MAXIN EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Happy Valentine’s Day, bobcats! Love is all around Athens, and not everyone celebrates their love the same way. This year, The Post sat down with four couples at Ohio University to talk about their origin stories, their plans for Tuesday and their hopes for the future.
Sydney Britton & Andrew Thomas
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The origin story When Sydney Britton first met her boyfriend, Andrew Thomas, they lived almost 500 miles away from each other. Thomas is a sixth-year senior studying marketing online at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, but in October 2021, he was visiting a childhood friend who attended OU. It was during Halloween weekend, and his friend wanted to show him Court Street. They walked into Lucky’s Sports Tavern, 11 N. Court St., and Britton was standing on a booth seat. “When I saw him walk in the door, I was like, ‘Introduce me immediately,’” said Britton, a sixth-year senior studying commercial photography. “We hung out and talked for quite a few hours at Lucky’s and then we ran to Stephen’s for a second.” Britton and Thomas exchanged snapchats, and the following day they continued snapchatting each other. Thomas was only in town for a weekend, so Britton invited him to a party and they hung out after. The next morning, they got breakfast together before Thomas returned to St. Louis. The next weekend was Dad’s Weekend, but Thomas offered to drive the eight hours
it took to come back to visit the weekend after that. “Then he came the next weekend after that, and then the weekend after and then the weekend after,” Britton said. Thomas visited Britton’s family near Columbus during Winter Break 2021, and they continued to talk. At the time, Britton wanted to hold off on dating because she didn’t feel prepared for a relationship. “I respected that so much,” Thomas said. “We didn’t rush into things and made sure that these were the right moves. I mean, traveling from St. Louis, at that point, not knowing I’m going to uproot my life and move here, we made sure everything was kind of thoughtful.” Then, on Feb. 16, 2022, the couple made it official. A few months later, Thomas, who studied online and had a job that allowed him to work remotely, moved to Athens full-time and moved in with one of Britton’s friends. They were both nervous about living close to each other after dating long-distance for months, but the transition was comfortable, the couple said.
me soup, just like willingly came back and made me soup,” Britton said. “I was like, ‘Oh, he really cares.’”
Gwen Peters & Dylan Bertelsen The origin story Gwen Peters, a sophomore studying middle school education, wasn’t looking for a relationship in September 2020. But when one of her work friends came to her with his friend’s snapchat, she was intrigued. Peters and Dylan Bertelsen, a sophomore studying accounting, began snapchatting back and forth, and they really hit it off. In December 2020, they
Plans for Valentine’s Day This year, with Valentine’s Day falling so close to the couple’s one-year anniversary, Thomas has a secret plan for how to commemorate his relationship with Britton. “It involves Columbus and a scavenger hunt, that’s all I think I should say,” Thomas said. Last year, two-days before they started dating, Thomas and Britton had dinner at Cirò Italian Kitchen & Bar, 120 W. Union St. Thomas surprised Britton with two bouquets of flowers, and the couple made a heartshaped brownie together.
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What’s next? After graduation in May, the couple plans to move to Columbus, where they just got approved for their first apartment out of college. After a few years, they’d love to move to New York and continue their careers, Britton said. After that, marriage and kids are certainly on the table, but nothing is set in stone yet. No matter what happens or where they are, the couple plans on cultivating their love. “I realized I loved him when I was sick. It was my first time being sick around him and he made
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