Movies tell us love blossoms at the top of the Empire State Building, or at sunset on the bow of a ship. But real-life connections can be just as remarkable-without all those cheesy violins. To celebrate Valentine's Day, RedEye talked to five local couples about first sparks, meaningful moments and why their unscripted love stories are still going strong.
The picture of longtime love: Naja & Emmanuel Lerus, 37
Naja Lerus met her now-husband Emmanuel in the south of France, where she was raised while her father played professional basketball. Emmanuel, now a doorman at Trump Tower, remembers telling friends Naja would one day be his wife before they even started dating at age 17. The couple eventually moved to Chicago, where they are raising their three children and where Naja's buzzed-about newborn-photography studio in Beverly has scored her clients including Derrick Rose and Matt Forte. This spring the two will celebrate 20 years together by renewing their vows.
On their perfect date night:
Naja: Raclette, which is a French cheese you pour over potatoes, [is] like our signature dish. Sometimes if we're celebrating something we just go to the store and get us some Raclette and get all the ingredients, put the kids to bed, drink it with some Champagne and just relax.
On what they love about each other:
N: Emmanuel is such a genuine person. He is just so sweet, and I could honestly say if he could go get the moon for me and bring it to me, he would.
E: I love everything about her. She does whatever she can to make me happy. She's a good mother and she's a good wife and even if she thinks she does something wrong, and she does not, she tries to do even better all the time.
N: We're just so happy that 20 years later we still feel like this about each other. We've been together in our lives more years than we haven't been.
The comedians: Claire Meyer and Alan Linic, 25
Most couples keep silly spats to themselves but when Second City Touring Company member Alan Linic and improviser Claire Meyer bicker about missing socks or canceled plans, they tell the world about it.
The now-engaged pair's relatable "We Fought About" tweets ("Alan didn't tell me a secret our mutual friend told him;""I told Claire her spirit animal was a goose") got the attention of media outlets around the world and have drawn more than 21,000 followers. Meyer, who works at the Jewish Community Center in Lakeview, and Linic are getting married in April and live in Lincoln Park with their border collie mix, Oboe.
On how they met:
Claire: We were both audience members at a show at The Playground Theater [in Lakeview] and the show was very bizarre. ... and just not my cup of tea. And at one point someone pretended to snap someone's neck [on stage] and it was just too much, and I was a little drunk and I yelled out,"Oh God!" Alan turned around laughing and we made eye contact, and we talked about it after the show and that was kind of our "meet cute."
Alan: We chatted for a brief moment and I was like, "Oh, she's interesting." And after that first moment we somehow kept running into each other in random places.
C: It wasn't random. I totally planned it.
A: I thought it was random.
C:"Random spots" that he said he was going to be at on Facebook.
A: That's creepy.
C: I don't care. It worked.
On what they love about each other:
C: One of my favorite things about Alan is how serious he is about being truthful and logical. I have no sense of logic in my life so it's really nice to have him around, but it's also truthful to a fault, like white lies are something that are lost on Alan. It's something that makes me so mad about him but something that I really respect.
A: Claire's, like, not human and I love that about her. She's like a force of nature. There's something magnetic about her, and she just impacts people in a really positive way that she's around. And for someone who, like Claire was saying, is maybe a little on the robotic side, seeing someone so effortlessly interact with people and create positive situations out of nothing, I just find that fascinating and inspiring. And I also as an artist I really respect her.
The business partners: Autumn Merritt, 32, and Brian Merritt, 33
Decades before Autumn and Brian Merritt opened their Ukrainian Village boutique, Sir & Madame, in 2010, the two were middle-school classmates in Hyde Park. It wasn't until Autumn's last year of college that they became more than friends. Autumn and Brian and their two children live in Humboldt Park.
On their middle school memories:
Autumn: All the girls had a crush on Brian. He had these green eyes.
On working together:
Brian: You have to learn how to keep business with business and family with family. But I think because we have two different work styles, it kind of blends well.
A: It's rewarding. Especially when you really see your goals being accomplished, it's like, this is something we were able to accomplish together and something that we're working toward building together. It's just another layer in terms of realizing who your partner is because you get to see how they work.
On what they love about each other:
A: I love the balance that he brings. He can be conservative in his approach to things, so I appreciate that about him. Very logical. I think that helps to make me a better person too.
B: I love everything about her. Good and bad. She's probably one of the most caring people I've ever met; she's extremely thoughtful. She pays attention to every little detail. She's always putting somebody else before her, and I think that she's an awesome mother and she's just one of the coolest people I've ever met.
The teammates: Kayley Petersen, 32, and Meagan Crockett, 24
Kayley Petersen and Meagan Crockett are a team on and off the field. The women play free safety and cornerback, respectively, on Chicago's women's tackle football team, the Force. Playing football in their native Salt Lake City is what brought them together two and a half years ago.
On their first impressions:
Kayley: Well, the first time we met, Meagan was straight. And I was dating somebody else at the time but I noticed her right away because she was super fast. I actually got paired up against her to run a warmup race and lost really bad.
On how they got together:
K: We spent more time together and then, actually, one of our last games was in Portland, Ore., and we won and went out with the team. And while we were dancing, Meagan got swooped up by kind of a creepy guy, and she locked eyes with me and she kind of gave me a "save me" look. So I went over and I was like,"I need to start dancing with my girlfriend now," and she had a funny look on her face but it got her away from the guy. It was like, I don't know, it was crazy, there was this immediate intense connection and we danced the rest of the night.
On what they love about each other:
K: She's one of the strongest people I've ever met. When I came out -and I knew I was gay, but ... it took me about a year and a half from the point that I accepted it to being able to tell my family and be OK with that. And especially with our religious background, that was kind of a big deal, because we both grew up Mormon. But Meagan, when she started dating me, she never once hid me from anyone. She was proud of me. She never made me feel like I was a secret, and I really, really admired that.
M: Her love and kindness. She always tried to make sure that I feel loved and I feel safe, and I just notice it with everybody else. Any of our friends or anybody that we care about, [she] makes sure they're doing OK. ... If she sees that somebody's sick, she'll always reach out to them and bring them something, she's always been like that and I love that. I think the second part would be her humor; she's always cracking jokes or impersonating someone or singing.
The long-distance sweethearts: Tejas Shastry and Jenn Hemesath, 25
They met as freshmen at Northwestern, but Tejas Shastry and Jenn Hemesath's relationship has been long distance for the three years that Hemesath has been in medical school in Iowa. After too many nights when a battery-drained phone kept the two from saying goodnight, Shastry was inspired to launch AMPY, the Chicago-based tech company that produces phone chargers powered by users' movements. Since then, Shastry, who lives in Lakeview, and Hemesath have gotten engaged, and Shastry's bright idea has landed him and his business partners on Forbes' 2015 list of 30 Under 30 in Energy.
On their initial attraction:
J: I remember feeling like I hadn't ever met anyone who was so multitalented. He was creative, he was good at art, he did computer design work, he was good at science and engineering and he was just so humble. I loved talking with him and we would stay up until like 4 a.m. talking. I also liked hearing about his different background; he's Hindu and I'm Christian, and learning from each other was really amazing.
On the best gift they've ever gotten from each other:
J: For our first Valentine's Day, Tejas found this book that I used to read at Barnes and Noble every time that I went there. It was called "Inner Peace for Busy People" or something like that, and it was just kind of like an inspirational book. I used to hide it so no one [else could] buy it, and somehow he knew that I did this and he found it and bought it and gave it to me for Valentine's Day and it was just so sweet and meaningful.
T: It was really hard to find, I called some of her friends and said, "Hey remember that book that Jenn used to read?" And they'd be like, "Yeah, but I don't remember what it was called." I was about to give up, and then there was this huge book that was just sticking out [at Barnes and Noble] and it looked kind of weird-and I found it! It was one of those magic moments from the movies or something.
On what they love about each other:
J: I love that Tejas looks for the good in every situation. No matter what it is, no matter what challenge he's come up against, he thinks of some positive, something he's learned. He just makes the people around him feel good.
T: Jenn's really good at listening, being really attentive to what people are saying, and she's just kind in so many ways.