Love in the time of COVID: Couple meets, marries amid pandemic

(NewsNation) — Florida residents Alicia and Norman Harris always thought they were too busy for love.

Norman was working on his career as a lawyer. Alicia, a model and makeup artist with her own studio, was focusing on her business and her two sons.

So when a mutual friend tried setting them up, they resisted.

But then, the pandemic happened.

For the first time, they were able to slow down. They took a chance and reached out to each other.

Two years later, Alicia and Norman are married with a 3-month-old baby. And it all started on social media in late April 2020, a time when places throughout the country were under lockdown.

“We initially started to communicate via Instagram,” Norman said. A few weeks later, they had their first phone conversation, which led to the planning of their first date in June. But that was postponed when Alicia got COVID-19.

Even apart, though, Norman was there for his future wife, sending her fruits, vitamins and encouraging messages to get her through the illness.

Eventually, they had their first date, in July. Both were nervous to finally meet.

“I’m like, what if it just doesn’t work in person?” Alicia said.

Because they spent so much time getting to know each other virtually, though, the two were instantly comfortable with each other. Norman said it didn’t even feel like a first date at all.

“I think I knew everything about him within our first two conversations,” Alicia said. “We were just talking for hours and hours.”

That’s why it didn’t take long for them to tie the knot.

“He’s like, I’m going to marry you. And he said that on our first date, and a month and a half later, he proposed,” Alicia said.

The couple credits their love to the idea that opposites attract. Alicia and Norman say they balance each other out.

Norman. a self-described “by-the-book” kind of guy, says Alicia’s spontaneous nature helps keep him on his toes.

This balance has helped the two through other challenges, even beyond COVID-19. After Alicia got pregnant, she learned she had breast cancer, and she had to start chemotherapy.

“We were meant to be in each other’s lives, because if I wasn’t pregnant at the time that I conceived, I wouldn’t have known about the cancer and I wouldn’t have been able to catch it early,” Alicia said. “That’s all part of our love story.”

Now, Alicia has completed chemotherapy. With all the cancer out of her body, she is now in preventative treatments.

The baby was born healthy as well. As a testament to their own love journey, Alicia and Norman Harris named the baby “Journi.”

“She just brings a lot of joy to us both,” Alicia said.