Our love story began back in early 2017, George in his childhood bedroom in Clevedon, and Helen in hers in Kingston.

We had both received our offers for Oxford and were added to an offer holders’ group on Facebook. There were regularly conversations taking place, but we didn’t notice each other until 5 months later, on 20th May, when we both decided to join a video call that had been organised for the group to get to know each other. Despite being in a call with 20 other people, Helen noticed George and said

“Hey, I like that your name is Cherry and that your hair is red.”

It was a small sentence and the conversation moved on but, in that moment, they noticed each other.

Some flirtatious banter was exchanged back and forth over the next couple of months, during which they both studied for and sat their A-Levels. On 20th July, Helen made the long coach journey from London to Bristol to meet George for the first time – a journey that they’ll become familiar with over the years. That summer, they went on many walking dates around Clevedon, slowly but surely falling in love.

When the new academic year started, they both packed their bags for Oxford – George going to St. Hugh’s and Helen to St. Hilda’s. For the next 3 years, they cycled from one end of the city to the other to see each other, their walking dates turning to library dates.

Summer 2021, the first summer after lockdown, George and Helen went to the Lake District to celebrate their 4 year anniversary. They were walking along Buttermere at sunset, the lake peaceful and romantic after a day of people laughing and playing in the water, when they came to a clearing. George led the way onto a small beach, surrounded by tall trees, where he got down on one knee and proposed!

This summer, on their 6 year anniversary, George and Helen will be getting married!