“How could I not fall for that tall, handsome surfer sipping on his espresso while discussing our life experiences with that classic Italian animation?”
Leigh, about first date in 2013
Francesco and Leigh had an amazing aligning of stars that brought their parallel lives together from across the world. Francesco was born and raised in Sardinia, Italy. Following his father’s advice to aim for a life in the US, he landed a graduate school position in Washington DC. It was meant to be a 6 month temporary position but 16 years later, he is still here! He completed his masters and doctorate in that area and moved down south for his job. Funny that the city he moved to was Leigh’s hometown. He met many of her friends and acquaintances but never met Leigh in the 7 years he lived there! Meanwhile in at Clemson University Leigh worked on her own schooling, wrapping up her doctorate in 2013 when she landed a job in the 3D printing industry in the Charlotte area. At the same time, Francesco decided it was time to move to a bigger city and also moved to Charlotte. Both of them decided to be big-city savvy and join local Meetup groups and even dating sites where they actually met! But as soon as they met for coffee that first time in Dilworth Coffee, chatting for hours about their life experiences and future goals, it was clear that they had joined in the ranks of all those star-struck lovers out there. Their fun-loving relationship that followed grew deeper over the two years that they dated, until Francesco pulled out a shiny diamond ring to ask Leigh to be his partner for the rest of their lives. Without any hesitation Leigh said yes. They are excited to start their marriage in August of this year!
