Metro-Atlanta couple engaged after meeting at a gas station
SMYRNA, Ga. - Love can be found in some unlikely places.
That cliché is true for a metro Atlanta couple that met at a gas station. Their relationship is no fling, the two are engaged.
It was 2020. Larry and Ellen told Good Day Atlanta's Kaitlyn Pratt they met in the midst of their morning routines at a Cobb County RaceTrac on East-West Connector.
Ellen said she filled up her car with gas and was parking before going inside. Larry — who said he was "flying" by on foot — stepped in front of Ellen's car. She avoided hitting him, after a short scare.
Ellen said she quickly forgot the incident until Larry bought her a candy bar — peanut butter cups, she said — to "brighten her morning." The problem, Ellen said, was Larry walked away.
The couple's love story almost before it started, but Ellen seized her chance when Larry went back to the store for a receipt.
"I wrote my phone number down on my receipt," Ellen said. "As he went back by, I rolled down my window and said, ‘Hey!’ He came back by my truck, I passed him my receipt and I said, ‘This is for you.’"
Obviously, Larry called.
Larry and Ellen are now set to get married. When the two were deciding where to take some engagement pictures, of course, they decided some had to be in front of the store at which their love story began.
The couple hopes to inspire people with their unlikely love story. They say love isn't always found online or with a formal introduction.
"You just have to be open to it," Larry said.