2022 Love List:

Jeremy & Heidi & Jess, Monona, 20 years & 4 years
Colleen Frentzel & Kimberly Blanchette, Janesville, 16 Years
Grace Novie Stolen (She/Her, Ae/Aer) & Martin (Ze/Hir, They/Them), Washburn, 1 Year
Patsy & Vivian Lin, Madison, 2 years
Joseph & David Rogan-Nordstrom, La Farge, 30+ years
Bear Cunningham & Danielle Jordan, Madison, 2 years

As Carrie Bradshaw once said, “So many roads. So many detours. So many choices. So many mistakes.”

Giordi and Sylvester first saw one another early in 2019 in one of our local gay establishments, D.I.X., where Giordi worked. Sylvester didn’t notice, but Giordi let him know that our eyes met as he left the bar. After that night, Giordi noticed Sylvester’s profile on Scruff and started a conversation. Apparently, the universe knew we weren’t ready for anything serious at the time. We exchanged numbers over the app and had several missed dates. It wasn’t until late December 2019 when Sylvester noticed Giordi online and sent a message to discuss going on an actual date. That date didn’t happen until January 2020 after each of us took turns rescheduling the date due to us both getting sick at separate times. Needless to say, our first date was perfectly timed. After all those missed moments Sylvester proposed to Giordi in August 2020, and he said YAAASSSS!

Being in an interracial relationship at times has its struggles. Giordi was raised in a community that was less than diverse. When he left his family and moved to Milwaukee, he was fortunate enough to find a community called ZAO MKE Church that’s very accepting and diverse in culture. During the BLM movement in 2020, we had the privilege to raise our voices together. We’ve also participated in other awareness events. This has bought us even closer to one another. 

Something that keeps our relationship strong is that we have opposite strengths that complement each other’s weaknesses. As a carpenter by trade, Giordi is strong when it comes to hands-on work around the house, cars, and yard work. From mowing the lawn, installing a water heater, and framing a new backdoor—he either knows how to do it or knows where to research it to teach himself how to do it. Sylvester is very much the opposite. Before Giordi, his preferred method was to pay someone to do those things for him. In our relationship, Sylvester takes care of the finances and paying bills, doing inside housework, planning most of our social events, and ensuring Giordi is on-time for them. 

Moving forward, we are in the process of planning our November barnyard wedding and buying our first home together where we can raise our future children and fit our two Great Danes.