{"id":229437,"date":"2026-05-13T01:54:40","date_gmt":"2026-05-13T01:54:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/229437\/"},"modified":"2026-05-13T01:54:40","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T01:54:40","slug":"they-met-one-night-in-queens-a-year-in-st-lucia-followed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/229437\/","title":{"rendered":"They Met One Night in Queens. A Year in St. Lucia Followed."},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"css-ac37hb evys1bk0\">On July 27, 2023, Lance Growth had just finished speaking at a New York real estate mixer and met with friends for an after-party at the Record Room, a speakeasy-style, vinyl listening lounge in Long Island City, Queens. He was not looking to date, but noticed Shanae Stephanie Strachan right away.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-ac37hb evys1bk0\">\u201cI was outside with friends, still riding the energy of the evening, and when I went to hug our mutual friend, I saw Shanae behind her,\u201d Growth said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-ac37hb evys1bk0\">\u201cThe first thing I remember hearing as I exited the cab was his laughter before I even saw him,\u201d Strachan said. \u201cWhen I stood in front of him, my first thought was: Is this my husband?\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-ac37hb evys1bk0\">Later in the evening, she noticed his African attire and asked where he was from. When he responded, Saint Lucia, she pulled up a photo of herself at the Pitons \u2014 two mountainous, volcanic spires and a landmark in Saint Lucia she visits frequently. Growth, who left the island at age 7 and rarely visited, was caught off guard. \u201cShe spoke about my country with genuine love,\u201d he said. \u201cIt felt like we were meeting somewhere deeper than just a night out in New York.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-ac37hb evys1bk0\"><a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/column\/mini-vows\" title=\"\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">[Click here to binge read this week\u2019s featured couples.]<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-ac37hb evys1bk0\">On Aug. 8, Growth picked Strachan up from her apartment in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, for their first date. Over cocktails and light bites at the rooftop bar of the Moxy hotel in Williamsburg, they talked about their Caribbean roots and their journeys to New York City. \u201cWith her, I felt like I was being reintroduced to traditions and feelings I didn\u2019t realize I had been missing,\u201d he said. Before the night was over, they planned to go to a 50 Cent concert at the Barclays Center for their second date.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-ac37hb evys1bk0\">Strachan, 34, who grew up in Nassau, Bahamas, is a professional model and actress. She graduated from Monroe College with a bachelor of business administration degree, with a major in hospitality management.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-ac37hb evys1bk0\">Growth, 42, is the chief executive of Growth 1031, a real estate investment firm based in New York. He was born in Castries, Saint Lucia, and received an associate degree in criminal justice from Manchester Community College in Manchester, Conn., a bachelor\u2019s degree in political science from Tougaloo College in Jackson, Miss., and a law degree from Thomas Jefferson School of Law in San Diego.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-ac37hb evys1bk0\">By Sept. 14, 2023, they became exclusive, and the next month, Strachan moved into Growth\u2019s Williamsburg apartment. Around that time, Strachan suggested they spend some time in Saint Lucia. \u201cShe wanted me to get more in touch with my roots,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-ac37hb evys1bk0\">What was only supposed to be one month turned into a year, and after spending time there, they founded Connect Saint Lucia, a nonprofit organization supporting young entrepreneurs on the island. They continue to split their time between Brooklyn and Cap Estate, Saint Lucia.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-ac37hb evys1bk0\">In January 2024, the weight of years spent building a career alone in New York and the anxiety carried over from past traumatic relationships had unexpectedly caught up with Strachan. \u201cThe pressures of being a Black immigrant model in New York, I was always waiting for the shoe to drop, especially in the beginning of our relationship,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-ac37hb evys1bk0\">Growth said, \u201cI could just tell people had taken advantage of her. She tried to run, but I wasn\u2019t going anywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-ac37hb evys1bk0\">Over time, his consistency helped her let her guard down. \u201cI was a person who lived in worry and fear,\u201d she said. \u201cWith Lance, I\u2019m able to live with faith and joy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-ac37hb evys1bk0\">On Sept. 3, 2025, Growth proposed to Strachan while on a trip in Rome. He arranged for photographers under the guise of a magazine photo shoot, sent her ahead in a private car, and followed her on a scooter through the cobblestone streets. At Piazza del Popolo, he proposed with an oval diamond ring.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-ac37hb evys1bk0\">They married on May 1, 2026, at the Manhattan Marriage Bureau. Jenny Mendez, a city clerk, officiated, with six guests inside and 15 more waiting outside. Twenty family members and close friends watched via a WhatsApp video call from the Bahamas and Saint Lucia. That evening, they celebrated with dinner and live music at La Boca by Francis Mallmann at the Faena hotel in Manhattan\u2019s Chelsea neighborhood.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-ac37hb evys1bk0\">\u201cWe left our homes, came here, and worked hard,\u201d Growth said of emigrating from St. Lucia as a child. \u201cMy mom always said that all this hard work would come back to her kids as blessings. We found each other in this city, and we have this beautiful love. When the St. Lucians called on the video, I thought \u2014 this is what it\u2019s all for.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-ac37hb evys1bk0\">The next evening, they hosted a party for 40 guests at the Record Room, where they first met.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"On July 27, 2023, Lance Growth had just finished speaking at a New York real estate mixer and&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":229438,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[9,24,63,122,124,123,90103],"class_list":["post-229437","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-queens","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-queens","tag-queens-headlines","tag-queens-news","tag-weddings-and-engagements"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/229437","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=229437"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/229437\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/229438"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=229437"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=229437"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=229437"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}