Jenny Ostrom, 37, a director of photography, and her husband Chad Ostrom, 37, a director, stand in McCarren Park, near their home in the Brooklyn borough of New York, Feb. 8, 2018.
To mark Valentine's Day, Reuters photographers documented the stories of various couples from around the globe.
Their stories run the gamut from storybook high school romances to the more unconventional, such as finding love after an acid attack.
They include Nhuchhe Bahadur Amatya, 76, a retired accountant at the Nepal Electricity Authority and his wife, Raywoti Devi Amatya, 74, a housewife. Nhuchhe was 17 and Raywoti 15 when they wed in an arranged marriage 59 years ago.
Nhuchhe Bahadur Amatya, 76, a retired accountant at Nepal Electricity Authority, along with his wife, Raywoti Devi Amatya, 74, a housewife, pose for a picture as they sit inside their shop in Lalitpur, Nepal, Feb. 4, 2018.
"I saw Raywoti for the first time at my home after we officially got married, during the wedding her face was covered with a Ghumto [veil]," Nchuchhe said.
For Haidar Ali Moracho, 20, a transgender man from Spain, his relationship with girlfriend Coral Ibanez began online and had to be kept secret from their families for five years.
Haidar Ali Moracho, 20, and Coral Ibanez Blanco, 23, pose for a picture at the Moor's Field garden (Campo del Moro) in Madrid, Spain, Feb. 7, 2018.
"It was very hard. There were times I thought it would be less painful if we broke up, but I couldn't. Together until death do us part," he said.
When Indian acid attack victim Pramodini Roul suddenly regained her sight, years after she was attacked, the first thing she saw was her partner, Saroj.
"I was flying with Saroj and suddenly started seeing things clearly. That was the first time I saw Saroj's face. I had never imagined that I would be able to see Saroj in my lifetime," she said.
Pramodini Roul, 24, an acid attack survivor and a campaigner at Chhanv, an NGO that supports acid attack victims, and her partner Saroj Sahoo, 26, a manager at Chhanv, share a moment at the "Sheroes" home for acid attack victims in Noida, India, Feb. 8, 2018.
True love's path ran smoother for 37-year-old New Yorker Chad Ostrum. On his first day at college, he glanced through a door and a girl unpacking boxes caught his eye, so he went back to get a better look at the woman who would become his wife and the mother of their daughter.
"Through three states, long-distance dating, high times, low moments and 19 years later, we now share a home, a little girl and a life."
In Photos: Other Couples and Their Stories
The Different Faces of Love
1/10Asha Ahuja, 71, a housewife, poses for a portrait with her husband, Chandrabhan Ahuja, 73, a businessman inside their house in Mumbai, India, Feb. 7, 2018. Asha said: "It was the summer of 1971 when I met him for the first time. It was our engagement day which was just six days before our marriage. We didn't talk to each other until we got married. I was a free girl and used to go to jam sessions and enjoy time with friends. My life became completely different after I married him. He comes from a religiously conservative family. I sacrificed a lot after our marriage. We are from a generation where we had to make a lot of compromises to make the marriage work, unlike today. I have no regrets, as he loves me and I have a great family." Chandrabhan said: "I am thankful to God who has given me such a great wife. ... We have become closer now as we are growing old. I now accept whatever she says. I am a happy and satisfied person."
2/10Oladipupo Baruwa, 45, an investment promotion officer, and Funke Baruwa, 43, a gender and development expert, pose for a photograph at home in Abuja, Nigeria, Feb. 9, 2018. "Well, he is persistent. We met at a church on the first Sunday service of the year 2000, and he followed me home after every service from that day on until about two years later. I just loved his persistence and the fact that he didn't want to give up," Funke said. After the birth of their first daughter in 2013, the pair made a commitment that, whatever lay ahead, they would face it together. "For me that has always been the unifying factor. ... Marriage is a commitment, it is a hard work and when you are willing to work at it, you get better," Baruwa said.
3/10Mezbah Ul Aziz, left, 34, and Mausumi Iqbal, 33, pose for a photo in a coffee shop where they hang out on a regular basis in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Feb. 7, 2018. "Our story was not love-at-first-sight type. ... but you know about magic, it always happens with surprises. Both of us are dentists and married for eight years now. Before that, we met at our dental school on June 1, 2004, on the first day of the class. We both were invited to give a short speech before our classmates and teachers. ... We never admitted, but maybe we felt some spark on the first day, but it was definitely not love. Later, we chose different paths. But fate brought us together after a year and a half. I was being bullied by some of my friends, then he came out of nowhere. He did not need to help me, but he did. From that day, we started our journey together. ... now, we have a treasure too, our five-year-old daughter, the center of our attraction, the sign of our love," Mausumi said.
4/10Zakir Omur, 58, and his wife, Nurgul Omur, 53, pose at their home in Bogatepe village in Kars province, Turkey, Feb. 8, 2018. Zakir is a farmer and Nurgul is a housewife. They have been married 29 years and have two sons. "When I was young, my mother wanted me to marry, I thought it was too early but traditions came first. They said there was a girl, Nurgul, that could be my wife. ... We got engaged at our second meeting. When we were newly-wed, we started to live in this house with my mother and father. After a while my parents moved next door, but we stayed here. ... My mother didn't ask me if I loved Nurgul or not. But once we got married, I got to know her better. I loved her. ... We all need someone to be together with in peace and have conversations. ... The place we associate with our relationship, is our home. This is the place where we have lived since day one," Zakir said.
5/10Cathal King, 31, a veterinarian, and Jessica O'Connor, 28, a final-year veterinary student in Budapest, pose for a photograph with dogs on Rossbeigh Beach near the County Kerry village of Rossbeigh, Ireland, Feb. 4, 2018. "We met playing tag rugby in Killarney. We're both very active people. We do adventure races, hiking, and love to travel. We've been together three-and-a-half years. I grew up back here in Rossbeigh, so that's the main reason we're here," said Cathal. The dogs are Indi, the Spaniel, which they own together and Pippa, the Jack Russell, Jessica's mother's dog.
6/10Tony Wakaiga, 18, an art and design student and Suzzy Konje, 18, a hospitality management student, pose for a photograph after their date as they walk along Banda Street in Nairobi, Kenya, Feb. 11, 2018. Tony met Suzzy at a modeling photo session on Banda Street and they soon started dating. "We have been very good friends for a long time and our passion for each other has matured like wine. This Valentine's Day, I have a special surprise for Suzzy that will knock her heart out," Tony said.
7/10Yolanda Zuniga, 66, and her husband, Antonio Carrillo, 65, pose for a photograph in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Feb. 11, 2018. "He has been my sweetheart since I was 14 years old. We lived in the same neighborhood. I always loved his sense of humor and we got married when I was 19. My parents wouldn't let me go out dancing. Dancing has become our hobby. We go dancing on Saturdays and Sundays in downtown Ciudad Juarez, dressed as Pachucos. We have five children, 13 grandchildren and six great grandchildren," Yolanda said.
8/10Huang Chenfeng, right, 63, and her husband, Zheng Dingguo, 63, pose for a picture at Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center in Shanghai, China, Feb. 6, 2018. Both originally come from Wenzhou in Zhejiang province. Huang has been taking care of her husband around the clock since he was admitted to the hospital for cancer treatment. The couple had an arranged marriage, organized by their parents in 1972.
9/10Noor Djait, 31, an architect, and Ismail Benmiled, 36, a businessman, pose for a photograph with their three-year-old son, Said, and four-month-old daughter, Malek, at their house in Tunis, Tunisia, Feb. 9, 2018. Noor and Ismail lived on the same road ... growing up, but never became close until they met in a nightclub when she was 17. "That night was the first time ... I talked to him. I remember I took off my shoes to dance on the table. At the end I only found one, Ismail found the other. He brought it to me two days later, like Cinderella." They began a relationship but, with Ismail five years her senior, she was concerned about their age difference and they broke up. But Ismail persisted. He went to Rome years later, where she was finishing her architecture studies, and proposed marriage shortly after. "We have been married for six years, we have two children and our love has not changed an iota. We are as in love as we were in the beginning," Djait said.
10/10Daniela, 37, a Berlin-born social educator, and her partner Arda, 39, a German architect with Turkish roots, pose in front of Altes Museum in Berlin, Germany, Feb. 4, 2018. "I saw Arda in 2015 at an exhibition at the museum. And he recognized me, as well. A smile from both sides. One hour later, we were sitting together and having a cup of coffee. Now we live together in a nice flat," said Daniela.
Reuters is a news agency founded in 1851 and owned by the Thomson Reuters Corporation based in Toronto, Canada. One of the world's largest wire services, it provides financial news as well as international coverage in over 16 languages to more than 1000 newspapers and 750 broadcasters around the globe.
