Michael Foley (left) and Christopher Lukacs (right) on their wedding day.
More often than not, work romances never really evolve into more. But after seven and a half years, New York native Christopher Lukacs and his newlywed husband, Michael Foley, are living proof that sometimes good things come from cubicle culture.
Lukacs, now the senior manager of magazine strategy at Macy's, met his husband, an associate director at the communications company OMD, when the two were both working at the same media agency, MediaCom. Both were new hires, and although much has transpired in both their careers and lives since then, Lukacs has known for quite some time that Foley was the one for him.
"I always knew Michael would be the person I wanted to spend the rest of my life with ever since I met him and went on our first date," he says.
The two were engaged for a year and a half before officially tying the knot in June at a ceremony in Stony Brook, N.Y. Their wedding announcement made The New York Times.
"I had proposed to Michael in Ireland at the Cliffs of Moher," Lukacs says. "I knew going to Ireland, a country Michael loved so much, would be the best place for me to propose. We had always talked about getting married and wanting to have a family of our own. Once same-sex marriage became legal in New York State, where we both grew up and currently live, we knew it was the right moment for us to solidify our relationship, especially with both of our families' blessing."
Lukacs acknowledges how seamless marriage has been for them.
"To be honest, nothing seems to have changed besides calling each other husband, which we are still getting used to," says Lukacs. "Being together for seven and a half years, everything is exactly the same as it has been. I always thought of myself as a someone who wanted to get married and have my own family. I definitely did not want to rush into marriage, as I wanted to make sure I knew the person I would be spending the rest of my life with."
And of course, some of their work friends were at the big wedding day. "My coworkers have always been supportive of my relationship with Michael," Lukacs says. "Macy's is definitely at the forefront as one of the country's most progressive companies that have always supported the LGBTQ community."
What has changed for the couple is how good it feels to now live in a country where their love is legally recognized everywhere.
"It feels amazing to now have the [same] rights as every other couple in the United States and have our marriage recognized in any state. I am sure in years to come, younger generations will wonder why this was ever an issue," Lukacs says. "This was definitely long overdue."