Couple’s Pandemic Romance Blossoms Into Wedding: 'It Was Never a COVID Fling' (Exclusive)

Alex Morton and Stacie Pawlicki had a memorable "meet-cute" during the pandemic — and years later, a positive COVID test actually pushed back their engagement

Like so many other singles, Alex Morton and Stacie Pawlicki had a memorable "meet-cute" story during the COVID-19 pandemic — but their story didn’t end there! This summer, the two tied the knot in Chicago after being together for more than three years.

"It took a little while, but well worth the wait," says Pawlicki, 37, laughing during a video interview with PEOPLE.

"I think we did it exactly the way we were supposed to," adds a smiling Morton, 35. "And you can't convince me otherwise.”

Although not every pandemic relationship has stood the test of time, Morton says "it was never a COVID fling" and that they figured out pretty quickly "that it was the real deal."

Related: Couple Married for 66 Years Tearfully Reunite After 100 Days Apart Due to the COVID Pandemic

Morton and Pawlicki — who shared their romance journey in a previous Real-Life Love story — lived on the same apartment floor for months before they realized that love was just a few doors away.

One day, Pawlicki was waiting for a delivery in her "skull cap and finest pajamas" when Morton appeared and began flirting. The two quickly formed a connection, and within five months, they moved in together.

Pawlicki admits that Morton came into her life at a time when she was wondering if she was ever going to find the right person. She was in her mid-30s, all of her friends were married, and she says she remembers wondering, "When will it be my time?"

“I think a lot of women put pressure on themselves. There were moments when I wondered if I had delusions of grandeur, and that’s not reality,” Pawlicki says. "When we got together, I knew this is the way I always hoped it would feel. I [found] someone I can be 100% myself with."

In 2021, Pawlicki, who graduated from Vanderbilt, had the opportunity to move back to Nashville to start her own business. Soon after, Morton co-founded his data analysis company, Actual Insight.

"As the COVID shell lifted, we got really busy in our lives," Morton says. "So it’s just been this whirlwind of really big stuff, then the engagement and wedding planning was really big."

But as it turned out, the virus had another curve ball for the couple.

On the day Morton decided to ask Pawlicki to marry him, she wasn’t feeling well and decided to test herself and learned she had COVID.

Related: Couple Weds at Hospital After Groom Is Taken Off Ventilator amid COVID Battle

Not to be deterred, Morton cooked up a new engagement plan. The next good opportunity presented itself two months later when they were planning a trip to Los Angeles to see Morton’s grandmother.

The proposal took place at the end of a long day of sightseeing on a blisteringly hot September day. It kicked off at 5 a.m. local time and included the long, dusty walk near the Hollywood sign to the Griffith Observatory.

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"I'm like a big nerd," Morton says. "The observatory is the perfect place for me. It's my favorite place in L.A." Originally, Morton says he planned on a nice dinner with fancy cocktails after the proposal. But the exhausted couple decided to go to Shake Shack instead.

"It was a perfect example of me where I have these great big plans of grandeur, then it ends up at Shake Shack and you're like, ah, perfect," he says. "And who doesn’t love a good double cheeseburger, right?"

They compare their relationship to the character Benjamin Button — played by Brad Pitt in a 2008 film based on a short story by  F. Scott Fitzgerald — who ages backwards.

"We spent all this quality time right up front in our relationship," Morton says. "Then, after lockdown, we were able to do all these first-date things, like we’d never been to a restaurant, we’d never gone to a movie."

"There was definitely an adjustment period when things started to open up a little bit more," he adds.

For her part, Pawlicki says meeting the way they did caused her to feel less anxiety.

“There were less games. It was nice just to spend time with someone,” Pawlicki says. “We got into deeper topics because almost all we did was talk."

Related: Boy and Girl Got Polio Vaccine Together in 1955 — Now They're Husband and Wife Getting COVID Shots

Although the couple had moved to Nashville by the time they said "I do," they both considered Chicago home — so that's where they decided to exchange their vows. It was a merger of friends and family from both Chicago and Nashville, circling back to where the couple found the love of a lifetime.

"Because we met in COVID, it wasn't like our friend groups ever really got mixed together," says Morton. "We really kind of combined everybody in one room, which made it also new and exciting and fun."

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