As you are reading this article, Richfield couple Will and Stephanie Ruckel are, as well.

The Ruckels expressed their love for one another by separately—and unbeknownst to each other—entering their stories in Richfield Patch's "Search for the Greatest Love Story" contest. As possibly one of the sweetest twists of fate—they both did it in hopes of surprising the other for Valentine's Day.

At the end of Will Ruckel's submission, he wrote: "Finally, I'm not telling Steph I'm submitting an entry because I'd like to surprise her."

While Stephanie Ruckel wrote: "I haven't yet told Will. I'm hoping he sees the story before I accidentally blurt it out."

Well ...

Suprise!

Both Sides of the Love Story

Will's Version

I remember my first class freshman year of college—Mari Trine's American History. After a few weeks, I noticed the girl on the opposite side of the room couldn't stop smiling at me.

Countless study groups later, this girl and I, Stephanie, went on our first date to the Glensheen Mansion. Everything was going smoothly, so we continued our date at Dunn Brothers to play Uno and chat over coffee. In an attempt to embarrass her, I told her she needed to be more sneaky when she smiled at me in class. Bluntly, Steph informed me that she wasn't just smiling at me; in actuality, she and one of her girlfriends were laughing [at] me squinting to see the board. Thankfully, she went out with me, anyway.

A few short weeks later, I asked her to be my girlfriend on the soccer field on campus, and four years later I asked her to marry me in that same spot. After a year and a half of marriage, we are now proud homeowners in Richfield, both working to serve underrepresented students at colleges in the metro area, and loving married life together. And despite having Lasik eye surgery, she still finds ways to make fun of me every day.

Stephanie's Version

We met in college, like so many others. That fact is not unique. We had our very first class of freshman year together at The College of St. Scholastica in Duluth. Will sat in the very front row.

As the semester progressed, I watched him from my corner of the room squint all semester long. It used to make me giggle and became very distracting in class. I’ve never met someone that squinted with their entire face. 

I would study for class and escape my crazy roommate in the lounge of my dorm. Will did the same. He introduced himself to me; we began studying together and quickly became great friends. Will became someone I knew I would be friends with after college was over. I definitely underestimated his impact on my life.

My friendship with Will was necessary to get through a few rough experiences during my first two years of college. I didn’t realize how important [he] was to me until I started dating someone else. While starting a new relationship, I spent less time with Will. I missed our time together, which got me thinking, what could I be missing?

Will and I have been together for six years. We have survived college, graduation, living hours apart, living together, buying a home, fixing the home up, new jobs, and Grad school (for both of us). We married a little more than 19 months ago. We do not have the history established yet, but I couldn’t ask for a better love story.

Richfield Patch is still collecting love stories from around Richfield. E-mail caitlin.burgess@patch.com to enter.