Valentines Competition: Meet Cindy Pierce and partner

IOL is offering one lucky couple the opportunity to win a dinner and overnight stay at The President Hotel. Seven couples have been shortlisted for the prize. 

Winners will be announced publicly on Friday. IOL is calling upon its loyal readers to help it choose the most deserving couple for this competition. This is their story in their own words.

Couple 5: Cindy Pierce and partner

The year was 2015 and I had just entered my workplace canteen for afterwork drinks. One of my colleagues walked over to me with the newest office recruit and the words "meet Tiger". My heart fluttered, my flirt got immediately activated and the rest, they say, is history 😅 Over the past 10 years my relationship with my human has morphed from being colleagues to friends to lovers to an engaged couple and just last week, we officially got married!

The road to this point hasn't been easy. We spent literal years denying the spark, dodging each other due to other relationships until the day he sent me a message to say we should meet up for drinks. I was supposed to be on another date at the time but I didn't hesitate to get dressed and head out.

It was on this day, in 2022, when he broke the news that he would be moving to Portugal for work. It was also on this day that the greatest love affair of my lifetime (unknowingly) began.

We've known each other for 10 years, dated for 2 (mostly long-distance), been engaged for 1 month and now, in February 2025, we're faced with the same dilemma as we were 2 years ago. We have been married for less than a week and in 14 days, he will have to go back to Portugal once again. I would really like to make this Valentine's Day special, as this is our first one as a married couple, but after planning our wedding, we have little funds left.

Winning this prize would mean the world to me and go a long way in showing my person just how much I appreciate everything he does for me and for us. Please help me in celebrating our love before he leaves me here all by myself once again. Thank you for your consideration.