“Are you two a couple?” – “Are you two a couple?”. Anyone who hears this question has probably landed on Meet Cutes NYC, a popular Instagram and Tiktok account. You meet people of all stripes on the streets of New York. Lovers of all ages, with the most diverse backgrounds and experiences, describe in entertaining videos how they met and fell in love.
Anyone who thought that in a metropolis like New York it would be difficult for people to fall in love will be taught otherwise. Attention, now comes something for the heart.
For example, on “Meet Cutes NYC” Kazimierz and Krystyna report how they fled Poland in 1975 after Krystyna and their son had been held by the communist government for two years. Dario and Michael describe how their eyes met in a bar. And Jasmine and Justice are sure there must be destiny and want to get married in the coming year.
The idea goes back to 28-year-old Victor Lee. He runs the account with friends Aaron Feinberg and Jeremy Bernstein, he told the New York Post. Lee has been with his girlfriend for five years and missed one thing above all on social platforms: real relationships that have also gone through difficult times together. He wanted to fill this gap. The videos are in English, have subtitles and are seen by millions of people, even though the profiles have only been around for half a year.
The recordings give outsiders an insight into completely different personalities and relationship dynamics. If couples have been together for a long time, they are also asked for tips. How do you survive ten, 20 or 30 years together? Compromises, honesty and tolerance are mentioned frequently. But also being able to be happy with yourself, because another person can never fulfill everything that you think you lack.
When asked what the respondents like most about each other, loving looks are exchanged. A woman laughs heartily when her partner jokingly says “her butt,” and a man wipes away a tear when his wife simply declares, “He’s so good to me.”
Moments like these encourage Lee and his friends to keep hitting the streets of Manhattan and talking to strangers. The stories are full of surprises, the 28-year-old told the New York Post. “The couples have an opportunity right now to think about the beginning of their relationship. Some of them haven’t thought about that for 40 years, which is very special,” said Victor Lee. “People find love and connection at all ages and in so many different ways”.
Would you like some examples? A story that you would hardly hear today is that of David and Bonnie. David set several trains in motion to get to know his Bonnie. Or as a user comments under the video: “I don’t want Bonnie and Clyde, I want Bonnie and David.”
“It was the third of February, a very cold day in New York”. So begins the story of Joe and Rebecca. “She ran down the street and I asked her, ‘Why don’t you walk on the sunny side of the street?'” Rebecca speaks this sentence quietly. Since then, the two have been going through life together.
Cadijah and Tammy had lost touch for 20 years. Then they met again in a bar. Today Tammy says, “I see us sitting in a rocking chair on a patio.”
In this story, Victor Lee, Jeremy Bernstein, and Aaron Feinberg collaborated with popular singer Ed Sheeran to surprise a pregnant couple on the street with their favorite artist.
Stephanie and Allotey met and fell in love as work colleagues. 25 years later, they advise other couples: “You have to be happy with yourself, one other person can’t do everything.”
Sources: Instagram, “New York Post”
