BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – Love is in the air this Valentine’s Day. The search for a valentine spans apps to appetizers and can be thrilling but also exhausting.
Locals say they found love where they least expected it.
While her friends scrolled dating apps, Sarah Wright met her boyfriend in a UVM biology class.
She says it felt more real than matching online. “I definitely saw it happening around me but I never partook. I just don’t think it is enough to know someone,” said Wright.
Dating apps didn’t appeal to Zachary Cummings either. A mutual friend introduced him to his now girlfriend of five years. “When you’re in person you can see how they react to you and vice versa, you can tailor yourself to how they’re responding to you,” said Cummings
A Pew Research Center study found a third of U.S. adults try dating apps and one in ten find a partner. Some users say they help them cast a wide net. Others say an in-person connection feels more authentic.
In Williston, relationship coach Beth Martell helps 20-somethings to older Vermonters navigate love. She tells her clients it’s not where you look — but how.
“It’s not really finding that perfect mode, it’s what lies underneath. Having a really good fulfilled life and then also being social and being open,” said Martell.
Prioritizing passion and connection led Alison Esplund to love in an unlikely place. She was struggling through a workout at the gym when a personal trainer swooped in and swept her off her feet.
Michael Grubb, “I was kind of just helping her out at the time.”
Alison Esplund, “And the rest is history. Now I have a great workout split and a boyfriend.”
Still going strong with her UVM catch, Wright now works at Willow’s Bagels in Burlington.
With a little bit of everything seasoning and the courage to try, she watched a coworker fall in love too with a regular customer, “They were intrigued by what they saw and wanted to know more and were bold enough to make a move.”
People in search of a valentine can check out Mad River Glen’s speed dating on the slopes today.
Hop on the chairlift with another single, ski down at mid-station if there’s no connection, or ride it to the top with your match.
