Love at Leeds

Love through the years

A chance encounter in the Brotherton Library, a picnic in St George's Field, a seminar buddy who became something more – Leeds has seen it all.

Read 100s of heart-warming stories of Love at Leeds.

Search by graduation year: 1955-69, 1970-79, 1980-89, 1990-99, 2000-09, 2010-19, 2019-2024

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Margaret Wescott (English 1955)

I met my husband Peter during Freshers' week at the start of my final year in 1954. We were on the hockey club stalls during Freshers', and during the following weeks we were constantly 'bumping' into each other on the way to the refectory or the Brotherton.

We married in 1956, carried on playing hockey and brought up four children, travelling the world during Peter's army career. Sadly, Peter died in 2020, before our first great grandchild was born. Her parents also met at their hockey club in New Zealand.

William Granville Schofield (Chemistry 1955)

Ronnie and I had stripped the engine of my Jowett Javelin. Things had not gone too well and we were both a bit fed up. "Let's go dancing," said Ronnie so we went to the Astoria Ballroom on Roundhay Road.

I eventually saw a nice looking girl and asked her to dance. She said she had just finished her nurse training at St James' Hospital and was about to go hitch hiking on the continent before starting her midwifery. I also mentioned that I had just finished my PhD research in the School of Chemistry at Leeds. I escorted her back to her friends' table and looked for another partner. I didn't spot one so I asked my original partner for another dance. She said her name was Doreen and we drove her home in Ronnie's Jaguar.

We agreed to meet again, fell in love and married in 1960 at Whitkirk Church. We spent almost 50 happy years together before she sadly passed away in 2008. She never did her midwifery training!

Tony (Geography and Economic History 1965)

She was beautiful, exotic, enigmatic and elusive. I pursued her but without any confidence in securing her affections. We had several dates , I even accompanied her to her faculty ball, but I was never quite sure where I stood.

I left Leeds at the end of that year and emigrated to Canada 57 years ago to this day. We corresponded and met up again on a couple of my vacation visits to the UK and when she toured North America after graduating. Obviously I haven't forgotten her and in retrospect she certainly had feelings for me, but it drifted into nothing. I don't know what became of her. To quote Henry Fielding (who I didn't study), "Of all the words 'ere heard or seen the saddest are, it could have been".

Michael Warren (Medicine 1967)

I repeat this tale this year because I cannot overstate my good luck in Leeds.

In spring of 1966, I was counting drips to control the dose of labour inducing hormones in a lady on the antenatal ward at Hyde Terrace maternity hospital. A student midwife walked down the ward and smiled at me. I was completely smitten. A few days later at a medics' party in the attached Croft Hall residence I saw her again and plucked up the courage to ask her out.

We went out for a couple of months and my excitement at finding such an amazing, beautiful and elegant woman caused me to propose marriage, although I did not feel much of a match for someone so special and I was third in the queue! She sought a break to consider her options and went elsewhere to complete her training for six months.

I saw her only once. No change or decision. I was bereft and heartbroken with finals on the horizon. Then one day in early 1967 I was in the common room at LGI on student duty and my friend came in and said, "I've just seen Jean Cooper on ward two". I immediately rushed up there - she had come back for me without a word.

We took up our relationship again with vigour and passion, married about six months later after my first house job and soon after moved to Cumbria. We had four children (a condition of getting married) and an amazing life together for 55 years and counting, although now unfortunately blighted by Alzheimer's disease. I am still besotted and she remains as loving and lovely as ever, despite her difficulties.

Stephen Porter (Physics 1967)

While studying physics at the University of Leeds, I joined the Christian Union (CU). Some members of the CU organised a cycling holiday in Ireland during the summer vacation of 1965, at the end of my first year. On this holiday I met Margery, who was also a member of the CU, and our relationship grew over the next year. At the end of my second year (Margery's third year) I asked Margery to marry me, and she said yes.

Margery then went off to Ethiopia for a year, on Voluntary Service Overseas, leaving me to my final year studies. Margery may have stayed longer in Ethiopia, but she returned after one year so that we could get married in November 1967.

We both spent another three years at Leeds, living in a council flat (now demolished) on the Swarcliffe estate, off the York road. I did a PhD and Margery did an MA and a DipEd.

We moved south, to Northamptonshire in 1970, and we are still here. We would both have preferred to stay 'up north', and would have gladly returned there, but we have been constrained by work, church, and family commitments. We have now been happily married for 56 years and have six children, fifteen grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.

John Allen MBE (Chemistry 1968)

Both Hilary and I were members of Leeds University Light Opera Society, Hilary in the orchestra, myself stage crew. After the last night of La Belle Helene (Offenbach) we had a post-production party at Devonshire Hall.  After which a group us piled into my van to travel to Ilkley Moor to see in the dawn. After that we got together again and married in 1971. 

I lost Hilary to cancer five years ago, RIP.

Jean Kerslake (Geography 1970)

I met my future husband Mike at Leeds where he was studying fuel science. We decided to get engaged on Valentine's Day in our final year, 1970. To celebrate we went to 'The Who Live at Leeds' concert in the Union which happened to be on that very date.

Little did we know how well known that concert would become, though our memories of that day are a bit different from other peoples'.

Joy Smart (Psychology & Sociology 1971)

In my second year, I lived with three friends in Hartley Avenue and during that year I went out with Ken Hind, who at that time was Union Treasurer, for two terms until we parted company. We didn't see each other again for 51 years until 2022 when we met again and have been together ever since.

Kerry Thomas (Chemical Engineering 1971)

I returned to Leeds after Easter and went down the Union bar to meet up with some friends.

I noticed that there were a few new girls within the group, one who caught my eye. We were informed that there was a party that evening in Cromer Terrace. We all turned up at the party later and found one of my friends chatting up the new girl who had taken my fancy. However soon after I found myself talking with her and we got on very well. I took her to the cinema the next day to see 'Paint your Wagon'.

Despite that, the relationship continued and we were married in 1972. We planned a trip to Leeds to celebrate us meeting 50 years on in 2020 but unfortunately Covid-19 got in the way. We did visit Leeds in 2021 and celebrated our golden wedding anniversary in 2022.

Chris Cunliffe (Metallurgy 1971)

In the summer of '69 I met my girlfriend Heather during the summer vacation. We had a wonderful summer together traveling up to the Lakes and swimming in Lake Windermere. In October she travelled by train to spend the weekend at Roundhay Mount where I shared a house with four other students. I was fortunate enough to have a little MG Midget and over the next two years we had some wonderful weekends driving to Scarborough in the snow and over the Yorkshire Dales. In my final year we went to the Rag Ball and saw the Hollies supported by Cat Stevens.

In April 1973 we go married at Wigan Parish Church and all my old university friends came along. Last year we celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary. We have two beautiful daughters, one living in New Zealand and the other one in Dubai and we have five grandchildren. We remember our time in Leeds with such fond memories. It was truly the best time of our lives.

Bernard Perry (Physics 1973)

I met my future wife, Sally, whilst being a group leader during Freshers’ week. She wasn't in my group initially but she was a housemate of someone who was. We were engaged at the end of our first year together and married after she graduated (Spanish & French) in 1977.

We always have a laugh about our first meal together which was on the day we met back at my house in Hessle Place. Not come and look at my etchings, but come try my mother's cheese and onion pie (and they were good - I always came back after the summer with a hamper full of goodies).

Jill Douglass (Geography 1974)

My now husband attended Carnegie for one year to complete his PGCE. I was in my final year of a BSc in geography. He shared a house with the younger brother of the boyfriend of a friend I shared a house with. And that was it - we met and started going out. When he left Carnegie in 1974 I stayed on at the University to do my PGCE whilst undertaking a long distance romance as he was now teaching in Somerset. I later moved to Somerset to teach and be near him only for him to go off on an 18 month trip around the world. A very long distance romance!

But in 1979 we married and have been together since. And to further cement our love of Leeds our daughter is also a graduate of the Uni - she graduated in broadcast journalism in 2003. Our visits to her during her time there were real trips down memory lane. And we could teach her a few things about student life at Leeds - including the Otley Run.

Our love of Leeds continues to this day with full on support for Leeds Rhinos, Rob Burrow and Kevin Sinfield. Our lives would have been very different without that first meeting in Leeds.

Richard Hassall (Philosophy & Psychology 1974)

I first met my wife when we were both students living in Charles Morris Hall. My wife is Margaret Longhurst (History 1973, PGCE 1974), but known to all as 'Margy'. We were attracted to each other and went out for a time. However, it didn't work out and we split up. We were both too immature to know how to make a relationship work. We both left Leeds in 1974 and completely lost touch with each other - no internet in those days!

Margy later went to the Far East, spending time in the Philippines where she met her first husband. She had a daughter and a son by him. Coincidentally, her daughter, Rose, went to Leeds University in 2001 and was in Charles Morris Hall for her first year.

After leaving Leeds, I trained as a clinical psychologist in Cardiff and subsequently worked in a range of clinical psychology jobs around the country. When I was living in Oxford in 2005, I accepted the offer of a new job in Leeds. As I had had a number of failed relationships behind me, I went on an internet dating site for graduates. It was there, quite by chance, I came across Margy on the same dating site. I recognised her immediately. She was a little slower to recognise me, since I had shaved off the beard I had had as a student, but she soon did! By that time, she had been divorced for many years, having brought up her children as a single parent in a remote coastal village in Suffolk.

We met up just before Christmas 2005, the first time we had seen each other for 31 years. I moved up to Leeds early in 2006. We fell in love very quickly after that, not deterred by having to maintain a long-distance relationship between Leeds and Suffolk. That led to us having a lovely wedding in Suffolk in 2009. Margy moved up to Leeds a few years later. Unable to find a house that suited us in Leeds, we moved to Knaresborough in 2016 where we now have a beautiful view over the River Nidd. We've been happily married here ever since.

Steve Jeffrey (Economics and Computer Science 1977)

I started studying at Leeds Uni in 1973. I met someone on a blind date during fresher week. We married in July 1977 and are still together - 50 years since that date!

Nick Catt (French and Latin 1978)

I met Maureen in my first year in 1974. I was at Bodington and she was a short walk away at Bardon Grange. We used to get on the same buses into town and were in the same Greek philosophy lectures.

We first started going out after a riotous fancy dress party at Bardon where I was Bonnie (from Bonnie and Clyde) and she was Diana Ross. We got engaged the next year and married in 1977. We are still together now 47 years down the line.

Isobel Page (Microbiology 1985)

My parents (John Page (Agriculture 1957) and Christine Brook (Botany & Zoology 1957)) met in their first year at Leeds in a zoology practical. I met my partner, David McClelland (Genetics 1983) in a genetics practical at Leeds 29 years later.

Maybe our daughter should have gone to Leeds as well!

Jane Domingos (neé Tansley) (English Literature and History of Art 1986)

José and I met at the Freshers' disco in 1983. We looked at each other, smiled and that was that. Our first date was the next afternoon - we arranged to meet outside the Student Union. José was studying civil engineering. We enjoyed lots of great gigs in the Refectory - all the best 80s bands. We also enjoyed nights out at The Warehouse. We'd meet most lunchtimes - either sharing a packed lunch in the Parkinson Building or buying a bean burger in the refectory.

Both of us spent long hours in the Parkinson and Brotherton libraries and occasionally sat in on each others lectures. We have very fond memories of our time in Leeds as students and felt very proud to be at the University of Leeds in particular.

During the second term of our first year we attempted a mammoth trip out to Littondale for the weekend having been invited by a friend of José's. Without a car it involved many bus and train rides - and we were finally dropped off by an old bus still several kilometres from the cottage we were heading to. It was February and beginning to snow. I think that sealed our love for each other, for Leeds and for the beauty of Yorkshire. We shared a flat on Chapel Lane in Headingley in our second and third year and continued to live there after graduating in 1986, along with our cats.

We applied for jobs all over the country but our first job offers were in Leeds and we managed to buy our first house - ripe for renovation - in Woodhouse. In 1987 we had a beautiful wedding in the Cotswolds but we loved being in Yorkshire and we stayed there for 17 years with just a short spell in London on secondment. Our five children were are all Yorkshire born.

José specialised in hydraulic engineering and I worked as a freelance artist and illustrator. We are still in touch with Stephen Chaplin who was the head of fine art at the time. We are now living in Leicestershire but will always feel a great affinity to Leeds and Yorkshire.

Andrew Hill (Biotechnology 1986)

We were the lads of 'The Swedish Prison Block', in D5 high. Two weeks into the first year we were still partying! A group of about eight of us had spent the night in the Tetley's bar and when it was closing, we all chipped in to buy four packs from behind the bar. We built a tower with them. A group of girls emerging from the direction of the lower bar entered the Tetley and pointed out the beer. We invited them back to partake at the flat. The ladies were from Ellerslie Hall less than 100m away. I met my wife that night, but didn't know it! I walked her home in the early hours and that was it.

A couple of days later my new mate in the room next door to me said, fancy going to the Chem Soc disco? Well we did. She and her roommate walked up to us, and said "Hi, remember us from the other night?" Yep! We got talking and suggested to my now wife that it was too loud to talk in here, so we went and chatted in the Tetley bar. At the end of the night I walked her home and this time we shared a simple kiss on the steps.

It's now been 40 years! We have two married children, one of whom is married to a Leeds graduate. Our relationship has always been the biggest gift from Leeds.

Sarah Schaathun (neé Emmony) (Molecular Biophysics 1987)

I met my now husband Birger, a Norwegian student, in my first year at Leeds. He was studying fuel and energy engineering but we found "chemistry" in the chemistry subsid we both did.

Our first date was on Valentines Day 1984, at Tiffany's nightclub, so we will be celebrating 40 years together this year. We got married in the summer we graduated as his student visa meant he would have had to return to Norway otherwise.

Pippa Tallentire (Textile Management 1987)

Starting at Leeds Uni in 1984 my accommodation was in Henry Price with a great bunch of girls. We soon got to know the lads in the flat above who had rented a TV and a deep fat fryer, both of which in those days was quite an attraction!

During the first year I started going out with one lad from this flat, Andy Tallentire, who was studying chemical engineering. The Henry Price Building was luckily close to both our facilities so we only had short walks to our lectures.

Little did I know that I had met the love of my life and future husband! Mine was a three year course and his four so in my first job down in Devon we worked through a long distance relationship until we both moved to London.

Our next move was to Ware in Hertfordshire where we got married and still live. Our three children all went to university after hearing all our tales of the great time we had as students in Leeds and are thankfully now settled in good jobs.

We are both still working hard having started up our companies a number of years ago and still keep in touch and regularly meet with the wonderful friends we made during our time at Leeds.

Chris Burton (Politics and Economics 1989)

Saw a boy. Liked what I saw. Always from a distance. Thought he had a girlfriend. Met again in 1997. Fell in love. Married 2000. Three children. Still like what I see.

Helen Matthews (Geography 1989)

From the gym on Cromer Terrace in September '86 to an Almeria field trip in '88 our love at Leeds blossomed - now 38 years later my love for John Matthews continues to blossom. Thank you Leeds!

Nicola Alton (English 1990)

I met my husband, Chris Alton (Geophysics 1990) , at Leeds during my final year.

One of my friends liked a friend of his, and we set up a double date. They did not hit it off but I knew early on that we had something special. After we graduated, we went on to get married and have two wonderful boys. We travelled the world with Chris's job and lived in Egypt, Moscow and Houston.

Tragically, Chris died in 2014 and this year marks the tenth anniversary of his death. We planted a tree in St Georges Field in memory of him and our time together at Leeds.

Alison Young (International History and Politics 1990)

My husband Craig and I met at Boddington Hall when we first arrived in Leeds in October 1987. His room was below mine in Hey House. After graduation he travelled to Australia, while I began a career in journalism.

When he returned he joined the RAF and we picked up where we left off. We married in my home town of Chester in 1994 and celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary next month.

After 31 years service he retired last year and our forces life has come to an end. We have four children, 24-year-old twin boys, a 20-year-old son and a 15-year-old daughter. None of them followed us to Leeds University, but we visit the city regularly to stroll down memory lane.

Miranda Cox (English 1990)

I met my husband on a stairwell on the first day of Freshers' week in 1987. He lived next door to me in Lupton flats. I was studying English and he was reading chemistry. We have been together ever since and are celebrating our 30th wedding anniversary this August.

Rich Rock (Food Science 1990)

The fall of 1987 brought me to Leeds as a University of Illinois junior year abroad student. My assignment to Clapham House (Bodington Hall) introduced me to Cynthia Kickham, another American student (Vanderbilt University) at Leeds for her junior year. After multiple "hellos" in the common room we began to play squash games and meet for dinner among many other joint activities. By the end of the academic year our friendship had grown into a relationship we both wanted to continue. After returning to our respective American institutions we commenced a long distance romance until we both moved to Madison, WI and married in 1991.

32 years later we remain together in Rockwall, TX, having raised three children, now all adults with our first to be married in two months. There must have been something in the water at Clapham House because another bloke (Richard Sudworth) also married a gal he met that year in Clapham House.

Dave Gerrish (Computer Science 1990)

Met my first love in Leeds. I went to a party and was sick in her flat. She must have really liked me!

Jane Susanna Ennis (German 1993)

I met my partner, Tobias Abse, in the senior common room at Leeds University. He was a lecturer in the history department, I was a postgrad in the German department. We moved back to London in 1994, when he got a job at Goldsmiths College, University of London. We are now retired and live in Italy. We have been together for 33 years.

Rhona Riley (Zoology 1993)

In April 1991, I was in my first year of my zoology programme, I had just broken up with my long term boyfriend from home in Wales.

Ready to embrace the full student experience as a single student, I arranged to go out with my hall mates. We met in the Old Bar, where a group of male students joined us. We decided to go onto a club in Leeds. I got to talking to a second year mineral engineering student, he was interesting, if a little moody. At the end of the night he asked me out for a date, to which I agreed.

Having always been practical when it came to the other sex, I was amazed to find that I was really nervous for this date. He picked me up from halls that Friday and we went back to the Old Bar where we played pool all night. That was it, I was smitten. For the rest of the semester we were together as much as lectures and exams would allow. We were in love.

As part of his course, he spent the summer months in South Africa working on a gold mine. We kept in touch by letter and a phone call every two weeks (no internet or mobile phones then so this was a big deal). The night of his return 28 September 1991, he proposed with a ring made out of the gold from the mine he worked on.

For years two and three of my studies we lived together and spent every Friday night with our friends in the old bar playing pool. The year of my graduation in summer of 1993 we got married. We celebrated our 30 year anniversary last year.

I still work at the University of Leeds and we enjoy a walk around campus remembering the whirlwind of student life that was out courtship.

Emma Henderson (History 1995)

During my second year at Leeds I discovered and joined the Yorkshire Universities Air Squadron. I started flying at RAF Finningley in January 1994 and on my first weekend on the squadron I met a former Leeds (Poly at the time) student who was now training to be a RAF Navigator. We got together that weekend, married 18 months later and celebrate our 29th wedding anniversary with our three adult children later this year.

Emma Sutton (English 1995)

We met at Bodington Hall back in the 90s. We got married in 2000, have four children together and now live in Brighton. Dropping our daughter off at her university halls in 2022 brought back many happy memories

Clare South (Classical Civilization 1995)

I met my husband Andy South at Henry Price. He lived on a different floor and we had mutual friends. It wasn't until our third year that we started dating and had our first date at the Favesham. We bonded over our love of 'Up Yer Ronson', 'Back to Basics', and the Royal Park, playing pool, getting served first in the Roy Castle no smoking room and having a pint at the Union. We got married and will have been together for 30 years next year. We now live in Philadelphia but are so grateful to Leeds for bringing us together!

Alen Zavala-Urigüen (MPhil 1996)

It was October 95 that as a young man I flew over South America and the Atlantic Ocean to join my course at the Nuffield Institute. At the welcome party I went to talk to a lady from Germany who was studying the MSc HSS. We got closer through speaking German, although it is not our mother tongue. This brought us closer although we were in different courses and accommodation, we tried to share time together as much as possible.

Most of the time we used to go to the computer room or library together. We also shared lunch time together. We started taking walks through Hyde Park or the city centre, talking about our experiences and family. We developed a very close friendship and began sparkling.

At Christmas, we celebrated at her place with others who did not go home to their families. After that we became an inseparable pair and celebrated Valentine's Day 1996 as a couple.

After finishing our courses, I went back to Ecuador and she to Germany. Regardless of being thousands of miles apart, we stayed close to each other.

A few years later, we ended up at the altar and gave our wedding vows. What makes it very interesting is that we had to travel to Leeds from Ecuador and my wife (who is originally Eritrean) from Germany to meet at the Nuffield Institute. Now we are living happily in Germany.

Lynsey Fielden (Medicine 1997)

We met in 1993 when Nick came to study medicine too, and my housemate was his medical undergraduate minder. I remember seeing him now and then in the Worsley Building common room, and a few smiles in passing in the intervening years, but we didn't get together until 1997.

Our first date was at The Royal Park pub, and we knew early on it was something special. Roll on 27 years: we have three teenage children - one about to go to uni - and we're still loving living and working in Leeds.

Nick West (Spanish 1997)

I first saw Jo the day I arrived at Leeds (1993) in the Brickies. We both lived in St Mark's first year, me in the basement, her on the third floor. We got together in the final week and are very happily married (2006) to this day (2024).

Rich Moffatt (Information Technology 1998)

I met my wife of 21 years (today actually!) across the hall in Lupton flats in 1994 and we have been together ever since. Lots of happy memories during our four years there and since! This year our daughter started her psychology degree at Leeds so we are spending a lot of time back there and boring her with our memories.

Helen Berry (Medical Science 1999)

I met my husband (also a Leeds graduate) in the summer just before we graduated. Our eyes met over a crowded dance floor at "CocSoc" (Cocktail Society), held at Roxy nightclub in the Merion Centre, after several classic cocktails (if you can actually call them that). We now live, happily, with our two children (17 and 15-years-old) in Bolton, Greater Manchester.

Marie Carter (History 2000)

We met through mutual friends and our first date was at The Faversham. Twenty-four years later, our middle of three daughters, who is a hopeless romantic, has her sights set on Leeds.

Vicky Smith (Fire Engineering 2000)

In 1998, just before the start of my second year studying Fire Engineering, I moved into a house in Woodhouse with three girls I'd met the year before in Boddington. One evening looking out the back window I accidentally locked eyes with a guy whose house backed onto ours who was also looking out his window.

He came over with his housemate to say hi. He was a lovely floppy haired computer science student also at Leeds. He spent the evening sat on our stove chatting with us which was lovely but I couldn't work out why he wouldn't sit on a chair. By the end of the month all four girls in my house were seeing four of the five guys in his house, it was like something out of Friends.

After graduating, of the four couples, we were the only ones to stay together.

We married in 2004, and now, 26 years on we live in Portugal with our two daughters.

Anneke Vliegen-Van Bostraeten (PGCert Health Research 2000)

A couple of months into our relationship, I took my new boyfriend Jean over to Leeds. He accompanied me to his first Quaker meeting at Carlton Hill.

From the moment I'd stepped through the doors at the Quaker meetings the Christmas before, I had felt at home. This group of friends received me with love, acceptance and curiosity. There was a recognition that we are all different, and that life holds more questions than answers. They held me together when I was falling apart. Some of them kept in touch. Me and Jean were warmly welcomed by them.

I explained to Jean that at the end of the meeting for worship he would be invited to introduce himself. This played on his mind. He prepared a few sentences. When he got up to say them, something else came out:

"I am Jean. I am honoured to be Anneke's friend, and as far as I am concerned it is going to be for the rest of my life."

Applause broke out.

As friends came towards me to catch up afterwards, I was transfixed. Desperately trying to process what had just happened I found it difficult to enter into any lively exchange. My head was spinning. My heart was overflowing. Had he proposed?

He was as surprised as I was. We have been married now for nearly 18 years.

Deneisha Moss (Law 2001)

I met my now husband and the father of my child at Leeds Uni shortly after arriving from the Bahamas to study at the law faculty. He arrived from Italy, barely speaking English, with his best friend who was an erasmus student and a friend of mine. A few parties at Majestic and we lost touch until we randomly bumped into each other again one day on the Morrisons in town. The rest is history!

We've moved and lived all over the world including England, France, Egypt, Thailand, Burma, Bahamas and now the Netherlands. We have a gorgeous 11-year-old daughter who loves to hear these stories!

Lucy Knight (English Literature with French 2002)

I met my partner in 2013 on a dating site, after many disastrous dates with other people. He is from Leeds, and I'm not, and he picked the bar where we'd meet - Carpe Diem. He also managed to get lost on his way there from the station and rang me for directions, and his Leeds accent was so strong I found it hard to follow what he was saying. I spent the next ten minutes thinking I'd made a terrible mistake. And then he arrived, and in the time it took for him to take off his coat I knew this date was not going to be a disaster, and in fact it might be a lot better than that.

I still know my way around Leeds a lot better than him, 11 years later.

Joanna Edwards (Pharmacology 2003; PhD 2008)

On my first day studying pharmacology, I walked into the Worsley building and saw an acquaintance I'd first met two years previously in a nightclub in Birmingham. He was studying neuroscience so we shared a lot of the same classes and we quickly became good friends. We moved into the same shared house in our second year, and got married nine months after we graduated.

We celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary next month and wouldn't be together today if it wasn't for Leeds Uni.

I also found another love at Leeds Uni. My course, and especially the programme lead Dr Chris Bowmer, was amazing and I quickly realised that what I really wanted to do with the rest of my life was teach pharmacology; and that is what I now do!

Amy Winter (Environmental Management 2004)

I met my husband in Montague Burton Halls. He said it was love at first sight and can still remember the slogan on my T-shirt the first time he saw me: "If you can read this you're standing too close."

He lived in the block of halls next to mine and his then girlfriend was in my flat. We were best friends for all of first year. We'd spend our Saturdays watching sport in the bars in Headingley.

Second year we moved into a student house with a few others and love began to bloom once he and his girlfriend had separated. We got married in 2009 and now have two beautiful daughters. I love Leeds as this is where our journey began and I love any excuse to return and relive our youth together.

Claire Smith (Management and Maths 2004)

It was 20 years ago, in the summer between my second and third year that I moved into new shared accommodation. My new housemate had a shy friend in baggy trousers with big dreadlocks down to his waist. During the course of the summer and autumn we got to know each other and fell in love. We are now happily married, with two lovely girls and no dreadlocks. I always say I never went home after uni because I fell in love with the city of Leeds and with my now husband.

David Tatham (Medicine 2004)

It's not the most romantic of beginnings: we met in Majestyk night club in freshers week in 1999! Both medical students. But we've been inseparable ever since - we're now partners at the same GP practice in Bradford and we have three children.

Phil Boardman Law 2007

We met at Dev in first year, lived next door but one in Headingley in second year and started going out on 5 November 2005. We have now been happily married for eight years and have a four-year-old little girl. We come back each year to revisit some of our favourite places!

Lorna Taylor (Sustainable Business 2007)

I met my husband on my second day at Leeds University living at Lupton Flats in Headingley. He had just moved into the flat opposite mine and I took an instant dislike to his flirtatious nature. However, after watching numerous rugby matches together I quickly realised he was actually a brilliant human being!

We started going out 8 November 2003 and never looked back! Four brilliant, adventure-filled years followed at Leeds where we made life-long friends and shared antics and hysterics in our student houses.
After Leeds we got our first flat together in Nottingham for a few years and then work took us to our second home in Birmingham.
We got married at Birmingham Registry Office in 2015 and ended up settling in a small village outside Lichfield to bring up our three children.

We often talk about Leeds and all the fantastic times we had! Our oldest adventure together!

Chanelle Tomlins (Communication Studies 2007)

I met my husband Andy (Microbiology with Immunology 2008) at a house party in Headingley in 2005. My friend invited me to her house party and he was one of her housemates!

We hit it off immediately and bonded over knock-off Bailey's that he had purchased earlier in the day. I graduated before him as he did an industrial year, so I stayed in Leeds working while he did his final year. We moved to Scotland in 2008 for his further studies and made it our home. We lived in Glasgow then Edinburgh before we settled in a wee town outside of Glasgow. We got married in Jamaica – where I am from – in 2016 and had our daughter in 2018. We are still going strong nearly twenty years later.

Ki-tyo Ssemma'nda (Health Policy 2007)

I got a Ford Foundation scholarship to Leeds one year prior to my first foreign travel to UK. Three months before travelling to Leeds, while at the general post office in Kampala, I met a lady I had a crush on earlier in my earlier life. Naturally, the vainglorious me dangled my UK Visa and scholarship in air, and she fell for it. She was mine. She would come and visit me in Leeds. There was so much to accomplish in three months before I travelled to Leeds. But we stuck to our plans.

She did visit me in Leeds, and we shared a very small bed at St. Marks apartments. And we travelled to Manchester and London and also laughed a lot. It's when I finally went back to Uganda after my Masters degree in health management planning and policy that we had our first child, Thandiwe - meaning the beloved.

She is now in Grade XI on a Cambridge School Curriculum at Vienna College Namugongo, Kampala.

In the photo: Thandiwe's mum is on the extreme right, next is Thandiwe and their friends.

Savita Kothandaraman (Food Science 2009)

We both lived in Leodis residences and I remember having our first interaction at the entry gate in September 2008.

Hrishikesh and I later met through our common friends and ended up having the best times together in Leeds - from Flames to Halo to the Parkinson steps.

We went on to get married in 2014 and we now have a baby boy.
We feel like our time in Leeds was magical, it holds a very special place in our hearts and we carry those memories with us wherever we go!

Shirley Tanudjaja (MSc International Finance 2009)

I met my husband during a walk organized by Leeds University Chaplaincy on 5 May 2009 - a bank holiday trip to Bolton Abbey.

He regularly attended the English course in the Chaplancy and I regularly attended international student club every Wednesday. He is from Poland and I am from Indonesia. His sister worked in the University of Leeds and told him about the walk. I was invited by my Indonesian friend who also studied with me at that time. We finally got married in 2012 and have lived in Indonesia since then.

Thea Sullivan (Fashion Design 2011)

I met Liam on my first day at Leeds. In fact he was only two doors away from me in our halls flat. We quickly discovered we had lots in common and became very good friends. Little did we know that love was blossoming in the background, obvious to others on the outside but not so much to us on the inside. In fact, our flat mates were so worried about it they staged an intervention suggesting we didn't date just in case we broke up and made the flat atmosphere awkward!

16 years later we celebrated our seven year wedding anniversary! Thank you to whoever was in charge of designating flats for new students that year!

Rachel Dawson (German 2012)

I met my now husband while in first year, working at Subway on Albion street. He started his first year when I was in my fourth and final year. Now we have two children and a happy life together. Leeds Leeds Leeds!

Liza Pritchard (Psychology 2012)

I still remember us noticing we both had green eyes in Freshers' week and a firm friendship was made. Although not a romantic connection, one of the loves of my life, my best friend Amelia who I met at university when we lived in halls at Clarence Dock.

15 years later and separated by half the world (she now is in Australia), there is no one I would rather drink wine with. The many hysterical tales we have of life in Leeds, from nights out at Mezz, Mission, Oceana and Mook, to actually getting some study done. We even made a Facebook group for the driver of the bus that used to take us to Uni.

We love Leeds so much that we did an Aussie themed Otley Run to send her off in style before she emigrated. So this is my love story for her and for Leeds. It will always be our special place.

Stasia Matsumoto (Asia Pacific Studies 2012)

Toshiya and I met at Leeds University back in 2011, we were both members of Japan Society. We had weekly social meetings, which basically meant grabbing a few pints at a pub and just chatting to people. During one of those socials I saw him standing alone by the jukebox (really! this isn't an attempt at being poetic) and thought "what a handsome boy!".

I was a little bolder back then so I came up to him and started a conversation. We exchanged phone numbers and often met up for lunch at the Leeds Uni cafeteria and became good friends. We got married in 2019 and our fifth wedding anniversary is coming up in a few days!

YE Le (Human Resources 2012)

I met my lover at Leeds in 2011 and we got married in 2013. Now we have two lovely children. Last summer we went back to Leeds and visited the campus with our children. It's been a pleasant journey! Thanks to Leeds University for letting me meet the love of my life.

Rebecca Dilks (Philosophy and Politics 2014)

My partner Josh and I both attended the University of Leeds but didn't know each other. Due to his year abroad we would have been there at the same time for some of my years at uni, however we never met.

Josh went on to do a Masters whilst I went to the University of Sheffield to do a GDL. After finishing his studying he lived with some friends from his Masters who were friends of mine from Oxley residences. They hosted a reunion weekend for us all and Josh was the only person there I didn't know. Our shared friends dropped hints that I might be interested in him. Washing up together gave us the chance to get to know one another!

Eight years and a baby later we're living and working in Leeds and still very much in love - but we don't do the washing up together!

Hannah Douse (English and Sociology 2014)

During pre-drinks at Lupton Halls I first met Ben, a friend of a friend. We instantly clicked and became best friends, spending most of our time together, and lived together during our second and third years.

To us our relationship was entirely platonic, but to others it was a little strange. In hindsight, perhaps it was odd that we used to hold hands on the way to Uni, be each other's plus one to every event, and joke that if we were both still single at 40 we'd marry each other.

After five years of being "just friends", and me moving back home to London, Ben decided to take the plunge at 2am after a few too many drinks to tell me he loved me. Once the initial shock had worn off, and following a few months of indecision, I went to visit Ben in Leeds for the weekend.

During a bar crawl, at Mojo's, Ben proclaimed: "We have one more drink, I'm going to have to kiss you." So off I trotted to the bar, and the next thing you know we're standing on the table sharing our first kiss.

We got married in 2022, with two of the wedding tables named Lupton and Mojo's. Leeds will always hold a very special place in our hearts.

Marta Santillo (PhD Psychology 2015)

I met my husband in our shared accommodation in Leeds, we were housemates. He was doing his Masters and I was just starting a research internship at the University which then lead to a PhD the following year. I feel it was definitely love at first sight, and it took a few months before we actually went on our first date at the Kirkstall Abbey - it was the BBC show "Frankenstein's Wedding!"

We got together in March 2011 and we are so happy now, with our two little boys and cat Coco. The city of Leeds and the University are very special to us. They are a map of our love story, and they tell the story of how it blossomed that spring. It's lovely coming back after years, walking around our memories of our love story and important people that we have met together during those years at university, who shared our love and came to our wedding!

Hannah Ratcliffe (Food Science & Nutrition 2016)

I met Nish in freshers week, we were both living in Lyddon Hall and went to dinner in the same group every day. During our time at Leeds we lived, studied, and partied with each other. We got together three years after graduating, when he finally asked me to be his girlfriend!

Emily Boig (Geography 2016)

Me and Justin met on a volunteering trip through Leeds RAG in Ethiopia. We spent a month there trying to teach kids football in the baking heat! We took bucket showers and there was a fair amount of food poisoning and hangovers so we got to know each other pretty well. Once we returned to Leeds, we lived round the corner from each other in Hyde Park but we were inseparable.

This trip sparked a love of travelling together and we've since been to 40 countries together. 10 years later, we've just got back from living in a Ford Transit in South America and are settling back into life in London and celebrating our tenth Valentine's Day together.

Nicola Bramley (Italian 2016)

I met my partner in fourth year on a night out through an old housemate. I studied Italian, he studied maths. Long story short, opposites attract and we're tying the knot in Italy this July!

Debalakshmi Dihingia (MSc Accounting and Finance 2016)

I was almost done with my year at Leeds. But as luck would have it, that was not the end of the story. I had been talking to a prospective student at Leeds who was due to begin in October 2016. It was 3 October 2016.

We decided to meet at the Parkinson's building to go to Primark. And that was the beginning of our story. We would find excuses to meet up almost every day after that. One of our dates was at the Corn Exchange where there was supposed to be a light display. Our love for food took us to Tharavadu and Akbars.

Sadly I had to leave Leeds in a couple of months. We then decided to go long distance. Since then we would always make sure that we met up a few times a year. And I am glad we decided to go the distance as I am happy to say that we recently got married in December 2023.

And as a token of our lovely time at Leeds, my Mehndi design had the Parkisons building.

Fallon Evans (French and Linguistics 2016)

It was 15 September 2012 and move-in day. To say I was anxious is an understatement, but after meeting all of my new flatmates in James Baillie, the anxiety settled and excitement stepped up.

One in particular made me feel at ease instantly, as he came to me and explained he too was a Brummie, and that we already had mutual friends on Facebook! From that first day we were inseparable. We lived together from our first day in Leeds, survived a third year abroad away from each other, and are now married with a dog!

Leeds will always hold an extremely special place in our hearts and is the reason we met almost 12 years ago. Thanks Leeds for introducing me to the love of my life!

Joe Barnes (Mathematics and Music 2017)

My fiancé and I met on our very first days at halls during a getting-to-know you party in a flat in our accommodation block at Devonshire Hall. As much as I'd love to say it was love at first sight, I have the distinct memory of never thinking I'd have a chance with a woman like her!

Our friendship groups intertwined in those early weeks and by December we were officially dating. Flash forward ten years and we're planning our wedding in Yorkshire, with many of our Halls and uni mates playing an active part in our wedding. Any way you cut it, Leeds was the first chapter in our long and happy lives together

Hannah Magee (Sustainability and Environmental Management 2017)

Cliché I know, but I met Jordan on the first day of University in 2013. We were both studying the same subject and were friends for over a year before we got together. We required a little push from our friends to start going out, but as we say, the rest is history.

We are happily married and will have been together for 10 wonderful years in 2024. We are both working in the sustainability industry using our degrees for good. There's still much more to come in our love journey, but we are so glad it started at Leeds. We love Leeds.

Jessica Sinclair (Medicine 2017)

In my first lecture at medical school they said about 50% of you will marry someone else in this room. That's probably fairly accurate!

I met my man in the first term (2011!), we were dating by the second and were together the whole of med school. He finally proposed in 2019 and we got married in 2021 after moving to his hometown of Plymouth. We still love Leeds and miss it a lot...but we get to see our friends at all the weddings that are the result of many other love stories which started in Leeds.

Eva Iacovou (MSc International Marketing Management 2018)

I met my partner while studying for my Masters in Leeds. We were in the same course and in the same friend group for the whole year. We accidentally had our first date at the cinema, after everyone else cancelled and we ended up going just the two of us. The rest is history – we've been happily together ever since and we're each other’s best friend.

Emma Hooker (Natural Sciences 2018)

My partner Joe and I met in the Leeds University Union eight and a half years ago, while I was auditioning for PantoSoc’s Sleeping Beauty pantomime. Joe was the musical director. We fell in love on set and went on to work on a number of other musicals together, across Stage Musicals Society, Music Theatre and Workshop Theatre.

We still live in Leeds, recently having bought a house together up by the Kirkstall Abbey. Joe works for a social prescribing charity and conducts a choir, I work in healthcare IT and professionally act, so we still have a lot of music and theatre in our lives!

Jinglin Wang (International Banking and Finance Law 2018)

We first met in the late summer of 2017 at the University of Leeds. That year, we spent most of the time together. Like most Chinese students , we stayed up late to write papers, went to Chinese supermarket on weekends, took walks on campus together, and went on trips to European countries.

After graduating in 2018, we returned China with those sweet memories. We had our wedding in 2019, showing all the guests our Leeds love story with a super photo wall. And now our baby is eight-months-old, we sent her a little present from Leeds. All of this, just because we love each other and we all love Leeds. I hope sharing this warms your hearts.

Fan Fan (MSc Food Science 2018)

When I first arrived in Leeds in 2017, my wife and I met at Laidlaw. Our daughter is now one-year-old. My studying at the University of Leeds was the most memorable and wonderful year for me. We studied together in Laidlaw, swam at the Edge, watched fireworks in the park, and celebrated Halloween at the Union, all of which left a deep impression on me.

I hope to have the opportunity to take our daughter back to the place where her parents met and feel our happiness in the future.

Rachael Vickerman (English and Theology & Religious Studies 2018)

I met Rob during my year abroad at Radboud University in the Netherlands. We met right at the end of my time there and promised to try and see each other monthly as I headed back to Leeds to finish the final year of my studies. I loved my time at Radboud but at the same time, I had really missed Leeds and was excited to go back.

As the next year or so passed by, Rob came over to Leeds a few times and I loved showing him all my favourite spots on campus. We also took lots of day trips around Yorkshire, where Rob - coming from the famously totally flat landscape of the Netherlands - fell in love with Yorkshire's beautiful rolling landscapes. He was proudly with me at my graduation in 2018 and I moved back to the Netherlands to join him shortly after. In June 2023 we got married in Otley with those rolling hills as our backdrop.

Anushka A Lakhotia (MBiol Biotechnology with Enterprise 2018)

I met my now husband at Leeds in 2015 at one of the GIAG events and hit it right off. I knew he was the one when he was brave enough to walk me from the University to Headingley after one drunk phone call request at 2am! Or when he was ready to spend 14+ hours at the library when he was not interested in studying!

We push each other to be the best versions of ourselves, and I thank the heavens that I found him when I did.

From first dates in Library pub to our first anniversary in the Angelica - we have come a long way! Whether it was meeting at Hyde Park pub and Terrace to going to Fruity for various night outs or spending 14 hours at Laidlaw and Eddy B - we found love at Leeds!

As we now expect a cute little bundle of joy together, I couldn't have asked for anything better. Forever grateful to Leeds for bringing us together. We're waiting to return to Leeds again to relive some of the cute little memories together.

Zilan Kilinc (Philosophy 2018)

In the vibrant tapestry of Leeds University stories, ours unfolded in 2015, a tale not of romantic love, but of a profound and life-changing friendship.

As a fresh-faced fresher, I encountered Steph, a study-abroad marvel from Victoria University in Canada, within the lively realm of James Baillie Dorm, Block C. Our first meeting, a serendipitous collision of energies, paved the way for a friendship that transcended the ordinary.

Steph, a fine art student, ignited my world with vibrant colours and creativity. Our kitchen escapades became a canvas for her culinary artistry, a fusion of laughter and innovative flavours. Doner kebab pizza nights, born out of academic stress, became our solace in moments of melancholy.

Amidst the academic crescendo, our bond found harmony in the hallowed halls of the Laidlaw Library. Many an intense session, laden with dreams and aspirations, wove the fabric of our friendship. Steph's creative mind, like an open book, painted vivid strokes of inspiration on the canvas of our shared experiences.

Leeds, with its bustling streets and diverse landscapes, became the backdrop to our growth. From the wacky clubs that echoed with our laughter to the quiet moments in our cluttered flats, our story was etched into the city's very soul.

To Leeds University, the silent architect of our journey, we extend our deepest gratitude. In the rhythm of Leeds, we found not just a city but a home for our transformative friendship to flourish. As we stand on the precipice of the future, we celebrate our Leeds story, a serenade of friendship, creativity, and the indomitable spirit of two souls finding each other amidst the bustling energy of university life.

Deepshikha Das Gupta (MA Advertising and Marketing 2018)

Hey there! Let me take you on a journey into our serendipitous love story. It all began on Tanmay's (MSC Automotive Engineering) birthday, July 20th 2018, at the University of Leeds. My best friend and I were casually chatting about relationships over some dal makhani and paratha, discussing how I'd never had a serious boyfriend. Little did I know, destiny had other plans.

While gazing out of the window, I spotted a guy covered in cake and beer with a group of his friends. Playfully, I pointed at him and said, "There's my future boyfriend, the one I'll marry." Coincidentally, we ended up at a friend's birthday party where I was informed it was Tanmay's birthday too. When I wished him happy birthday, little did I know he wasn't ready to stop talking to me.

After that memorable night, we had a few meetings and dates. However, my studies took me back to India in September, creating a void in our lives. Despite having known each other for a short time, we felt a connection. Upon returning to India, we stayed in touch, and during my graduation trip in December, Tanmay proposed we become a couple.

What followed was over four and a half years of a successful long-distance relationship. We became each other's best friends, navigating the highs and lows of life. Last year, he proposed, and I happily said yes. With my brother as my partner in crime, we broke the news to our families, and to our surprise, they embraced our love.

We tied the knot last November, and marriage has exceeded my expectations. I always admired my parents' relationship as soulmates who irritate, support, and love each other like best friends. Now, I'm living that dream. I have a partner with whom I share laughter, support, and the journey to achieve our dreams together. We got our "Happily ever after" thanks to the University of Leeds.

Mariana Avelino (Communication and Media 2018)

It was July 2018, the day after my graduation, the day before I was going to move to Germany for good. I was at the Edge when I spotted him. He was "the calisthenics guy" who two of my friends had gym-crushes on because he was always doing impressive stuff like handstand push-ups.

It all started as a joke, I wanted to tease my two friends by taking a photo with him. Even though they thought he was cool, they'd never spoken to him because "that would be weird". I didn't have that sense of awkwardness - I walked up to him and asked him for a selfie straight up. Never thought that would be the start of anything but he thought I was fun so he asked me for my Instagram and later that same day, slid into my DMs.

We've been going strong ever since, he even moved to Germany and now we have a flat together in Munich.

Funnily enough, I recently discovered that he thinks he's the one who asked me out. I'm pretty sure that, as the person who made the first move, I'm technically the one who picked him up at the gym. And it only took a selfie. Smooth as hell!

Ollie Zamek (International History and Politics 2019)

My girlfriend and I met in 2016 when we moved into neighbouring bedrooms in our Central Village flat. My parents, dropping me off, liked her more than I did at first and teased me about the girl next door.

We quickly became friends. By the end of second year, we were a couple. It all sounds unremarkable but to me it's perfect. I love her and Leeds very much.

Lorena Serrano (MA Culture, Creativity & Entrepreneurship 2020)

Sahil and I met in a farewell gathering when all the students were going back home due to the COVID situation. We talked for a bit and that was it, after that, I saw him maybe once. We were both doing our masters in Leeds, and we had some common friends but life was too hectic at that moment.

However, the real story starts in December 2021. I was back from Ecuador, my home country, and he moved to Coventry after landing a great job at a UK company. We started chatting, remembering our incredible days back at Leeds and all the places we had been - but somehow, we missed each other.

In March 2022 I got to travel to Leeds for my graduation. We met there, we went to some of our favourite spots in the city – like Sela Bar, Leeds Union, City Centre - and then later that week we met again in London. The rest is history.

After that, I went back to Ecuador and a few months later he decided to travel there. In 2023 I moved to the Netherlands (under a job seeker visa that I got because I graduated from the University of Leeds). Since then, we have been doing a long-distance relationship between the UK and the Netherlands. Together we have travelled to India, where he is originally from as well as to Dubai, Istanbul, Brussels, Rotterdam, Amsterdam and Quito, among others. We will be forever grateful to the Uni of Leeds. We got to meet the love of our lives.

Yu Zhang Creative (Writing and Critical Life 2020)

I met my beloved after a research project sharing session at University of Leeds and had a crush on her immediately. She was a PHD candidate at that time, and I was a postgraduate student. One day, encouraged by my classmate, I asked her to attend a pub quiz. To my surprise, she accepted my invitation. She is from Italy, but I'm from Beijing, so we rarely saw each other after my graduation in 2020. However, we kept a regular communication until now.

Last September, we eventually saw each other again at Leeds when I travelled to the UK and had a romantic holiday. In the future, I'll go to Leeds again and be with her.

Jana Fadeeva (MA New Media 2020)

While studying at Leeds through erasmus, I pursued my long term dream of trying archery. Who knew that I would not only discover my love for archery but also the love of my life!

What followed was a couple of years of long distance - between countries and within England. Every year, the gaps between us got closer and closer until we could finally move in together.

This month, we're celebrating our sixth anniversary.

Johanna Tomczak (Psychology 2022)

My partner and I were living a long distance relationship, and while I was doing my degree in France, he worked in the north of England. When I got my acceptance letter from Leeds, it not only meant I was going to start that PhD in psychology, but also that we could finally consider actually living together.

Leeds enabled us to move in together, and we have many beautiful memories of the city. From lockdown walks to the Leeds Light Nights, Kirkgate Market and climbing at the Big Depot.

Ray Zhang (MSc Digital Information Management and System Innovation 2022)

Amelia and I met each other when many people were discussing how to reduce shipping costs on e-commerce platforms in a chat group.

We often went to the library together and that increased our feelings for each other. She is brave and organised. I will never regret asking her to be my girlfriend. We live in Leicester together now. Living with her everyday keeps me happy.

Shruti Ganesh (Climate Change and Policy 2022)

There was a lot of chance and fate involved in our love story and Leeds was the canvas on which it all came together. Or, more precisely, the University of Leeds.

My flatmate was a course mate of his flatmate, and at some point, the worlds collided over a dinner at our place. I'll admit, it wasn't exactly love at first sight or sparks flying from across the room during that dinner, but I'd like to believe we made an impression on each other. A few weeks after the dinner the respective flatmates, a common friend and the two of us, decided to go to the Leeds Museum to spend an afternoon pondering over Leeds's unique history.

We got there only to realize that we had been ditched by the flatmates and it would just be the common friend and us. In retrospect, was this their plan all along, I wonder? We started to go around the museum, often breaking into lengthy discussions about the artworks. It was when we had been stood discussing over one artwork for over 45 minutes, not realizing the absence of the other friend that I started to realize that for the first time in my life, there was something in the museum that caught my attention far more than any artefact.

We decided to end the evening over some coffee at the nearby Café Nero and it felt like time was yet again at a standstill. It's been two and half years since Leeds brought us together and anytime we pass by the Nero at the corner of Albion Street, we remember all the cakes and laughs that had been shared since that lovely summer evening.

Maria Alexandraki (Electrical and Electronic Engineering 2023)

I met my current boyfriend through the Greek and Cypriot society as he was a part of the committee. I believe that he is the love of my life and I thank the University of Leeds for that!

Daniel Gao (TESOL 2023)

We were classmates but we knew each other in our friend's Christmas party for the first time. From then I've felt that she is the one. We decided to live in Leeds for more years and changed each other's life plans. Thanks UoL for making our life spectacular.

Alican Topcu (PhD Electronic and Electrical Engineering 2023)

Well, my love story isn't exactly the typical Valentine's Day tale, as I had already been happily married to my beautiful wife for six years. However, the magic truly began in Leeds when, in April 2022, our daughter came into the world. It happened during the last year of my studies, a period filled with stress and anticipation.

Leeds became more than just a city of academics; it became the place where our baby girl, our little ray of sunshine, entered our lives and brought new meaning to our days. Our family embraced the beauty of Leeds through serene walks at Kirkstall Abbey, the vibrant Roundhay Park, and the picturesque Golden Acre Park.

The Leeds hospital, where our daughter was born, holds a special place in our hearts. As she turned five months, we returned to our home country, but not without taking a piece of Yorkshire with us. Our little one, affectionately known as our 'Yorkshire Gal,' became a testament to the warmth and joy we experienced during our time in Leeds.

Laura Kockara (Liberal Arts 2023)

We met in Lyddon Hall in first year and ended up in the same friendship group during Covid-19. Later we moved in together with our friends and became best friends. For three years we lived together while dating others. Finally, we fell for each other while writing our dissertations every day in Brotherton. We would go there every day, too shy to say anything romantically but remained best friends nevertheless. When we went on a trip abroad with our friends to celebrate the end of our university lives, we happened to open up to each other one night at the beach.

Now we live together in Singapore and we're so lucky to have found each other.

Abhijith Randarappara Prasad (Automotive Engineering 2023)

I am excited to share my heartfelt Leeds love story this Valentine's Day, a tale woven with serendipity and a unique connection that transcended academic boundaries. As an alumnus with an MSc in automotive engineering from the University of Leeds, my story intertwines with that of a fellow student who pursued her MA in international relations.

Our journey commenced during an unexpected fire alarm that brought us together despite residing in different buildings within the same accommodation. Little did we know that this serendipitous encounter would be the spark that ignited a remarkable connection.

Our bond deepened through the simple yet meaningful act of hosting lunches. This allowed us to exchange thoughts, dreams, and laughter in a more relaxed setting, fostering a connection that extended beyond academic pursuits.

Beyond the lecture halls, the enchanting corners of Hyde Park, the vibrant Leeds University Union, and the picturesque campus grounds witnessed the progression of our connection. The city itself, with its blend of history and modernity, mirrored the evolving chapters of our love story.

Leeds University, with its rich tapestry of academic excellence, played a pivotal role in nurturing our individual pursuits and fostering a sense of community. The unique intersection of our academic journeys created a backdrop for a love that transcended disciplines, proving that connections at Leeds are boundless.

As we celebrate this Valentine's Day, we reflect on the unique journey that began with a chance encounter and evolved into a profound connection. Our hearts are forever intertwined with the spirit of Leeds University, an institution that not only shaped our academic endeavours but also provided the canvas for a love story that defied expectations.

Victoria Juszkiewicz (Film, Photography and Media 2023)

It was the beginning of 2021. Starting university during a pandemic was not easy, but finding housemates and somewhere to live for second year when you got to meet practically no one was even harder.

Cue a forum for Uni of Leeds students to find house mates and me meeting a boy who was into football and rugby. Adam and I had lived together before we even got together, we signed a house for second year with four other students while it was still being renovated and looked like a building site!

Living together spending all day everyday eating together in the kitchen, talking about everything and anything was the best way to start our relationship!

What started with an awkward handshake in Woodhouse continues with an amazing relationship with the best man. I love you Adam x

Thank you Leeds!

Remi Cheeseman Criminal Justice and Criminology MSc 2023

I met my boyfriend in 2019! We were friends for almost a year before he asked me to be his girlfriend and since then it has been a whirlwind. He's from Leeds originally so after being accepted into the University of Leeds to complete my Masters, I was thrilled! He was my biggest supporter during my degree, picking me up when I was down and through bouts of anxiety and "can I do this?".

He would take me for coffee on campus before class and drop me off to study, and other little things to get me through. So far we've travelled to Scotland, Italy, Greece and more together, and we've also started saving for our own home. Thanks to the University, I was able to move in with my partner, achieve my MSc, and start a new life in Leeds!

Ishika Aggarwal (Business 2023)

I met the love of my life while studying at the University of Leeds. I know it sounds cliché but I never thought I'd find him like I did. We met through common friends while studying the same course. Our accommodations were five minutes apart and we came from the same country - what are the chances?

We became friends first and then best friends and I don't know when we started loving each other to the point that no one else mattered anymore. We now live together and work together and by some miracle we can't get enough of each other. I love him to bits and we wish our love would grow even stronger over time.

Anna Barber (Law 2023)

We met during my final year and his first year at Leeds Beckett. We both nearly didn't come to Leeds for university but neither of our alternative plans worked out. After 6 years, we got married this summer after my final exams!

Bill Holburn (History 2023)

I met my girlfriend in Woodhouse Moor as we walked side by side. We have now moved to London together after seeing each other at several Fruity nights out.

Morgan Geddes (Criminal Justice and Criminology 2023)

Me and my now boyfriend were flatmates in Cityside. He's the absolute best and it's pretty cool to say I have a unique story that I went through the talking stage while living with someone!

Ojas Dagar (MSc Structural Engineering 2024)

I met my boyfriend one month after I landed here in Leeds and then everything changed. Now we explore the city together and most importantly I always have someone with whom I can share anything anytime. So coming to Leeds has changed my life in a very positive way.

Elaine Hayton (Mathematics and Computational Science 1972)

I was a naïve 17 year old when I came to look at Leeds University as an option for my university application.

I didn't know much about university - I was the first in my family and my school to apply. I just knew it was a chance to carry on my studies and it would be an adventure. I arrived on campus when the pink blossoms were glowing and laden on the trees and I knew that was the place for me. Random it might be but it changed my life.

I made lifelong friends whom I love and we have had so many adventures and a lot of laughter together. My degree led me to a career which was interesting, useful and helped me prosper. Thank you Leeds.

Bill Drummond (Geography 1992)

I fell in love with the pubs of Leeds. From the Old Bar to Whitelocks, not forgetting all the lovely pubs on the Otley Run.

Angela Cliffe (Music 1995)

I had the best two years ever at Leeds! I shared rundown terraced houses with fabulous people from different courses. I performed with and learned alongside outstanding musicians throughout my degree. I also spent a lot of money in the vibrant city which I bring my family back to every year to reminisce. Only happy thoughts!

Achilles Pliakas (MSc Colour Science 2007; PhD Textiles 2011)

Leeds is a lively city with compact city centre with massive suburb areas that many have not visited, even the locals.

The city has changed dramatically since I moved to it back in September 2005. The reason I love Leeds is because the University contributed to my extended education and to my professional experience inside and out of the student life. Both the city and the University provide unlimited opportunities.

I am glad that as well as this I met my current wife there - after a last minute decision to attend a career fair. Not sure if that fair helped me towards my current career but definitely it gave me a wife and a son.

Anuradha Kumar (MA Advertising & Marketing 2012)

There was a moment in my life when time stood still and that was when I was a student at the University of Leeds. As the motto goes, I lived it and loved it during my time there and 12 years since, the love for my time spent in England still remains unparalleled.

Whether it was to experience the changing of seasons and daylight saving for the first time in my life or the feelings of all the emotions one can experience in their life - I went through it all.

People who know me know I left behind a part of my heart when I came back home and that couldn't ring more true.

Jessica Thwaites (Law 2018)

I love Leeds and always come back to visit when I can. Some of my favourite memories were shopping in the city centre, going out to local attractions such as Tropical World and going on a trip to IKEA!

When it did come to studying, some of my favourite memories were at the Laidlaw Library. Fortunately, I was selected for a Laidlaw Scholarship which I am so proud of, so this library was (and is!) very special to me. My friends and I used to grab lunch from the Union and head off to study and would stay at this library for hours. University life was the best and Leeds is still my home away from home now!

Maryah Altayeb (Accounting & Finance 2021)

I absolutely fell in love with Leeds when I first visited the city in 2010, my siblings used to study there at the time and I knew then that I wanted to follow in their footsteps! Seven years later, I was back as a student at the Uni and Leeds became my second home.

Jasmine Sarkar (Neuroscience 2023)

It was my first time out of my home country and I landed in a perfect city, that's neither as big as London or too small. I fell in love with the city from the very first day. While studying here, I tried my best to enjoy the city life along with the campus. My love for making videos and capturing everything around me has made me love Leeds even more. I'm kind of an explorer who loves just going out on random days all by myself to feel the vibes and the atmosphere.

I loved being on the campus and I still go to campus almost everyday. It's been a major part of my life since 2022. I found so many places to study or to relax. As well as the libraries and the Union, I absolutely love how the campus offers multiple cafes and study spaces. I explored several areas near the campus and my accommodation along with the city centre both alone and with friends and I believe I'm going to cherish these moments forever.