HOW THEY MET

"Welcome to Greenville"

The name Judith Bainbridge has never been mentioned alongside the likes of Nicholas Sparks, Mark Twain, J.K. Rowling, or Charles Dickens. But the book she authored, Greenville's Heritage, sparked a love story that is a page-turner in its own right.

Skylar was born just outside of Richmond, Virginia, in the small town of Mechanicsville. An accomplished gymnast, she aspired to compete in some capacity in college. Her college tours took her to multiple schools, including Baylor, which had an Acrobatics and Tumbling team. Skylar thought she had found the perfect school; she even began messaging other incoming freshmen in hopes of finding a roommate. At her mother’s request, they took one last visit to Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina. Skylar immediately fell in love with the beauty of the campus and everything it had to offer. Although Furman’s lack of an Acrobatics and Tumbling team closed one door for her, it opened the door to her lifelong dream of becoming a doctor.

Rutty was born in Marietta, Georgia, just northwest of Atlanta. From a young age, he was enamored with all things sports, earning the nickname “Sportsfan” from his father. As a toddler, his parents cleverly used Masters reruns as a makeshift babysitter, letting golf entertain him while they snuck in a well-deserved extra hour of sleep. Rutty channeled this love of sports into a successful baseball career. A weekend-long baseball camp hosted at Furman marked Rutty’s first trip to Greenville. The stars aligned when he received an invitation to join the baseball team, and he was ecstatic to continue his baseball career while receiving an education from a school that might not have accepted him based on grades alone.

As a liberal arts institution, Furman requires all freshmen to complete a semester long seminar. Skylar naively assumed that “Welcome to Greenville” would be her guide to the best new restaurants and fun activities in town. Instead, she faced a rude awakening—this course provided a grueling deep dive into the history of the city that Skylar and Rutty now called home. Ironically, while it wasn’t the introduction she had hoped for, that class turned out to be the first time Rutty and Skylar met. On the very first day of college, they both showed up to their first class, Judith Bainbridge’s book in hand, and locked eyes for the first time.

Skylar and Rutty quickly became drawn to each other. They shared the same sense of humor and lived in the same dormitory, albeit on separate floors. On a class field trip to “Café and Then Some” for dinner and a show around the holidays, Rutty asked a teammate to swap seats with him so he could sit next to Skylar. They laughed and joked together as they watched six elderly women perform hilariously inappropriate holiday dances and sketch comedy. After this adventure, their paths seemed destined to intertwine.

Their friend groups began to overlap, and eventually, they started talking every day, continuing to stay in touch over the summer. After 18 years of her father's efforts to instill a love for baseball, Skylar finally became enthusiastic and invested after meeting Rutty. While Skylar was back home in Virginia, Rutty played summer baseball in Wilson, North Carolina. During this time, they had their first date—an afternoon of hiking in Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina, an hour's drive for Rutty and an hour and thirty minutes for Skylar. In a shock to absolutely nobody, Skylar was pulled over for speeding by a Virginia State Trooper en route.

That summer will forever hold a special place in their hearts and is the namesake for their miniature dachshund, Wilson.

THEIR JOURNEY TOGETHER

"States Apart"

They officially became a couple on August 26, 2016. Rutty had asked on the 25th, but Skylar playfully declined, explaining that the 25th did not work for her because she might forget the date. For her, the 26th held special significance as her favorite number—it just felt right to start their relationship on a day she’d always remember.

As they navigated college together, their days were filled with laughter and shared adventures. They quickly grew accustomed to being inseparable, which made the next chapter of their lives all the more challenging. Skylar was accepted to the University of South Carolina School of Medicine in Greenville, while Rutty enrolled in law school at Mercer University in Macon, Georgia.

Suddenly, their relationship became long-distance, requiring adjustments from both sides. Skylar frequently drove to Macon, and Rutty made the trek to Greenville. Early in their long-distance journey, they realized that having each other—no matter the distance—was far better than the alternative. Their friend groups grew as they invested in each other’s lives and careers. While it wasn’t always easy, their love story that began with Welcome to Greenville continued to flourish across state lines. Each year brought new challenges and celebrations, helping them grow even closer as a couple.

Today, Dr. Skylar Lambert remains in Greenville as an OBGYN resident, while Rutty has graduated from law school and is currently practicing law back home in Marietta. They are blessed with family and friends that love them and careers that fulfill them. In time, they will reunite, having conquered the challenges of long distance, ready to love each other and serve their community together for the rest of their lives.

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