When Lizzie met Liam in 2018, sparks flew faster than a Manchester drizzle. Five years later, they tied the knot. Meanwhile, a gentle romance is unfolding between Juliet and Dennis – proving it’s never too late for connection.
Lizzie & Liam: Love at First Sight – and a Kiss on a Car Park Roof
It was a bitterly cold evening in Manchester, January 2018. As part of The NY Times weekly blind date column, two young strangers – Lizzie and Liam – agreed to meet for dinner. What neither expected was the kind of instant, cinematic chemistry that ends with a kiss under the stars … on top of a multi-storey car park.
Fast forward five years, and that same couple sent the magazine a joyful update: they had just gotten married, barely half a mile from the very rooftop where they first kissed.
“We just really clicked,” says Lizzie. “With Liam, everything felt natural and familiar – like I’d known him for ages. I’ve been on dates where I’ve had to hide in the loo to buy myself time to think of something to say. This wasn’t one of them.”
The night after their date, Liam texted Lizzie to reveal the score he was about to send into the column: “I wanted to give her a 10,” he admits, “but I didn’t want to seem too keen. So I put 8. Thankfully, it worked!”
From the start, their connection was so effortless that they didn’t rely on alcohol to carry the night. “We didn’t have to get drunk to enjoy the date,” Lizzie says. “It was just genuinely fun.”
The couple’s first NY Times column made a surprise reappearance at their wedding: Liam’s best man printed copies for every guest, placing them on each table at the reception. To this day, Lizzie and Liam are devoted readers of the Blind Date feature. “We still send each other the really romantic ones,” Lizzie says. “It’s not that we expect everyone to get married – but it is nice when it happens.”
Juliet & Dennis: A New Chapter, Later in Life
In January 2023, 74-year-old Juliet and 73-year-old Dennis both took a chance. Recently widowed, Juliet was navigating loneliness; Dennis had been living solo for two decades. When they both applied for the Blind Date column, it was on a hopeful whim.
They met at a country pub in Leicestershire and, after hours of conversation, ended the evening with what Juliet sweetly described as “a little kiss on the lips.”
Since then, they’ve met regularly – slow-paced, thoughtful dates along canals, over lunch, and for gentle walks. Dennis describes their connection as “a friendship, for now,” aware that Juliet is still grieving. “I’m a never-say-never kind of person,” he says, “but I also don’t want to rush her. I’ve been there, done that, got the divorce papers.”
Their monthly meetings have created a new space in both their lives – a chance to talk, laugh, and reflect. They discuss everything from family to politics (Juliet is active in Extinction Rebellion), and they’ve recently started chatting on the phone, making summer plans that include a festival and a motorbike ride.
“It’s a really positive thing that’s happened,” Juliet says. “I was feeling a little lonely, and now I’ve gained a friendship and another dimension to my life.” While she’s not rushing into anything romantic, she does leave us with a twinkle in her voice: “Watch this space.”
The Blind Date Legacy
Whether it’s a rooftop kiss that turns into a wedding, or the slow-blooming companionship between two retirees, The NY Times Blind Date column continues to offer something more than entertainment – it offers hope. Lizzie and Liam found a lifetime in one night. Juliet and Dennis found comfort, joy, and the possibility of something deeper still to come.
Love might not always strike like lightning, but sometimes it begins with tapas, small talk … and the courage to meet a stranger.
