{"id":152827,"date":"2026-02-12T10:40:06","date_gmt":"2026-02-12T10:40:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/152827\/"},"modified":"2026-02-12T10:40:06","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T10:40:06","slug":"married-couples-share-their-love-stories","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/152827\/","title":{"rendered":"Married couples share their love stories"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/a>USF couples shared how they first met in anticipation of Valentine\u2019s Day. ORACLE GRAPHIC\/HAYLEY REED<\/p>\n

For most USF couples, love might blossom over study sessions at the Tampa Library or late-night runs to Argos Exchange.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But some faculty couples\u2019 love stories started with an online dating profile, an introduction email or even a shared office in a school hundreds of miles away.<\/p>\n

In honor of Valentine\u2019s Day, some married USF professors, faculty members and university leaders shared how they found love alongside their academic careers.<\/p>\n

Edward and Beth Tomlinson<\/p>\n

Edward Tomlinson<\/a> is a professor in the School of Management at USF\u2019s Muma College of Business, while Beth Tomlinson<\/a> is the director of the undergraduate management major at the same college.<\/p>\n

Edward and Beth said they met while both were in Ohio, where Beth was a school teacher, and Edward was a doctoral student in labor and human resources at Ohio State University.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Beth said both she and Edward were trying to figure out the best way to meet new people at the time, which eventually led them both to Match.com<\/a> \u2014 an online dating platform they matched on in 2002.<\/p>\n

\u201cPart of what attracted me to him initially, besides his stunning profile picture, was that he was a good writer and I could tell immediately that he was a really intelligent guy,\u201d Beth said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Edward graduated with his doctorate in June 2004, and Beth said his graduation inspired her to pursue graduate school \u2014 which began with a master\u2019s degree she completed in 2007, followed by a doctorate in 2011.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was kind of the point where it clicked that, oh, OK, yes, we are both going to end up being academics together,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Edward said the couple has only been working at USF for two years, but they have been married since summer 2004.<\/p>\n

Beth said their marriage has had its share of \u201cups and downs,\u201d and added that having kids can change a couple\u2019s dynamic.<\/p>\n

But even with those challenges, Beth said they have been \u201cblessed\u201d to love and support each other.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe try to look out for each other\u2019s best interest as we move through life, and that makes it much better,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Edward said that since they both work in the Muma College of Business, their working relationship is close \u2014 and said they try to have lunch together once a week.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019d think we\u2019d have lunch together all the time, and it just, it doesn\u2019t work out that way,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Beth said Edward gets haircuts every couple of weeks to keep his hair short \u2014 and often comes back with a gift.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen he gets his haircut, he swings through Publix and picks up a little bouquet and brings that home,\u201d she said. \u201cSo I always have fresh flowers.\u201d<\/p>\n

They said small habits like this help build their relationship and connection with each other.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For students looking for their own partners this Valentine\u2019s season, Edward said they should focus on people\u2019s \u201cenduring\u201d aspects.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t just focus on superficial things, focus on the things that really matter,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Beth said looking for someone with the same values and compatibility is \u201cabsolutely critical\u201d for a long-lasting relationship.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cChoose your spouse really carefully, not based just on feelings at the moment, because feelings change, and you need a commitment that is on multiple levels,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

David Blackwell and Wendy Liu<\/p>\n

David Blackwell<\/a> is the Lynn Pippenger Dean at USF\u2019s Muma College of Business, while Wendy Liu<\/a> is the director of USF\u2019s Finance Talent Pathway program.<\/p>\n

Blackwell said the couple first met at Texas A&M University, when they were both working as finance professors.<\/p>\n

The couple has been married for 12 years, but Blackwell said they encountered some \u201ctwists and turns\u201d on the way.<\/p>\n

Blackwell said when he became a faculty member of the University of Kentucky, Liu was offered an opportunity at Vanderbilt University \u2014 and the couple had to rely on commuting.<\/p>\n

But when Blackwell became the dean<\/a> of the Muma College of Business at USF in 2024, he said the couple was \u201cblessed\u201d that Liu was able to get a faculty position at the university.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow we\u2019re together, we\u2019re working on the same campus and that makes us very happy,\u201d Blackwell said.<\/p>\n

Liu said that when the couple was commuting, they couldn\u2019t be together every weekend, but they stayed connected and caught up on work when they were apart.<\/p>\n

Blackwell said that even now at USF, the couple is busy with meetings, events and new course developments.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut we always take some time out to go for walks or to have a nice lunch day or maybe to watch a movie,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Liu said she admires Blackwell\u2019s integrity, decisiveness and great vision. But Blackwell wove humor into his admiration for her.<\/p>\n

\u201cI admire Wendy\u2019s judgment in choosing a husband,\u201d he said. \u201cBut the things that Wendy described about me, I admire about her as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Blackwell said students should understand that relationships require people to share values and communicate openly.<\/p>\n

He added that the secret to balancing life and career in a marriage is to always put the other person ahead of yourself.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWendy and I are in a competition all the time to see who\u2019s putting the other one first,\u201d he said. \u201cBut most of the time, Wendy wins.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gregory and Mildred Perreault<\/p>\n

Mildred Perreault<\/a> is an assistant professor of public relations and mass communications at USF\u2019s Zimmerman School of Advertising and Mass Communications. Gregory Perreault<\/a> is an associate professor of media literacy and analytics for the same school.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The couple met while doing a journalism internship in Washington, D.C., in 2004. But their first interaction wasn\u2019t in person \u2014 it happened online.<\/p>\n

Mildred said the internship program encouraged interns to introduce themselves via email.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople would introduce themselves and send a little bit of information about themselves, just like \u2018this is who I am and what I like to do,\u2019\u201d she said. \u201cI think I was one of the first people to send out information about myself because I was super excited.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gregory said he and Mildred started exchanging emails and calling each other, which made him anxious for their first date.<\/p>\n

Still, Gregory said he was excited to get to know her more over the course of their internship.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI was coming from a school in Florida, and this was like my first real big city,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd so when I arrived [in D.C.], we got to know each other, and I think we started dating the first day we got there.\u201d<\/p>\n

They first met in person for a coffee date on Capitol Hill \u2014 a date that Mildred said has turned into 20 years of dedication, as they have been married since May 2006.<\/p>\n

With Mildred attending college in Texas at Baylor University, and Gregory in Florida at Palm Beach Atlantic, the long-distance arrangement for the first few months of their relationship was hard.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But Mildred said she moved to Florida after graduating to be closer to Gregory.<\/p>\n

Two decades later, Gregory said they still make time for each other even when they are busy with work.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery other week we try to get out and do something together, either go to dinner or go get a drink or just have some time for conversation,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"USF couples shared how they first met in anticipation of Valentine\u2019s Day. ORACLE GRAPHIC\/HAYLEY REED For most USF…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":152828,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[135,137,136],"class_list":["post-152827","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tampa","tag-tampa","tag-tampa-headlines","tag-tampa-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152827","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=152827"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152827\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/152828"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=152827"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=152827"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=152827"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}