This Couple Found Love (and Got Engaged!) in an Aldi Aisle — and It Nearly Broke the Internet
Love can find you in the most unexpected of places — even in a grocery store. At least that’s the way the story goes for Charles Phillips and Holly Walker, whose romance first started in an Aldi Finds aisle (known as the “aisle of shame” to superfans) at the beloved German discount superstore.
The couple, who met online, quickly bonded over photos of their home-cooked meals and shared a love for Aldi products. After getting to know each other, Phillips, 44, decided to drive two hours to meet Walker, 41, in person for their first date: dinner and a stroll among the aisles of chips and dips at an Aldi store. I got to talk to the happy couple about their “meet cute” story.
While on their first date, Walker was on the hunt for a holiday candle that she spotted at another store, but she ended up leaving with something even better — love. “I didn’t find the candle, but I did find Charles,” she said. Before leaving, the new couple decided to snap a selfie in the Aldi Finds aisle and post it in an Aldi Facebook group, where she says ”people went crazy over it,” marking the beginning of their love story.
The unconventional first meeting led to more dates and eventually weekly shopping trips strolling down the aisles of Aldi reminiscing on the fateful moment that brought them together. Exactly nine months after meeting, Walker and Phillips were engaged on a small peninsula near the water’s edge in metro Detroit, Lake St. Clair.
After hearing about their story, the Aldi team recently invited the couple to celebrate their engagement with a romantic candlelit five-course dinner in the very aisle where it all began. Aldi USA shared a series of photos of the event on Instagram, which garnered thousands of likes and hundreds of comments wishing the couple well. “Turns out, happily ever after is an ALDI thing. 💙💍 Where others found low prices, Charles and Holly found romance,” the caption reads.
“The whole thing was very surreal, from the beginning. We honestly thought maybe it was a joke! When we realized it was legit, we kind of laughed,” Walker says of the store’s invite. As for other hopeful romantics out there, Walker believes planning the perfect first date just means being your authentic self.
“Yes, going to a grocery store on a first date is a bit comical, but it’s something we both love and didn’t even think twice about it,” Walker says. “We were both super comfortable with each other from the beginning, so this was just doing regular life things.” The next time you stop by your favorite grocery store, keep an eye out — you might not just score a deal on seasonal finds; you might find the love of your life.
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