Our Story

A London Love Story

In 2011, George and Ruth were both looking for a purpose – George wanted to get out of Bloomington, Indiana and Ruth was just graduating from college in Atlanta, Georgia. George was on a break at work and Ruth was in an airport when they found out about their acceptances to Goldsmiths College at the University of London. In September, George made the flight from Chicago to London to study Radio, while Ruth flew from Kansas to study Music, Mind, and Brain.

Ruth and George existed in separate spheres for most of the year. They both settled on different ‘locals’ (frequented pubs) – Ruth and her friends could usually be found playing cards or Battleship at the Royal Albert while George and his classmates would be celebrating the end of a successful News Day at the Hobgoblin.

It wasn’t until January 2013 that the two met at a mutual friends’ flat for ‘dumpling night.’ George was mourning the break-up of his favorite band, The Books, and Ruth was shamelessly recruiting participants for her master’s study, which is how she ended up with George’s phone number.

George at dumpling night

George was Ruth’s most interested participant in her master’s research. It was a grueling 3 hours for most, with 45 minutes spent putting electrodes on his scalp, an hour watching a nature documentary, and another 45 minutes taking off the electrodes, but George was so positive. Ruth just couldn’t get over how sweet and funny this guy was.

Fast forward a few months when they were finally going on their first date. George had planned the whole thing as a surprise. The first stop was Greenwich Park to feed peanuts to the spoiled squirrels who will climb your leg for a treat. Then they went to dinner at Ana Capri, a little Italian restaurant where they finished their meal with limoncello.

They spent their last month in London getting to know each other, cheering for the U.S. in the 2012 Summer Olympics, and enjoying the city.

Fast forward another year when Ruth decided to take a job in Chicago and the couple decided to take a leap and start planning for the future.