When Leila Roker and Sylvain Gricourt first met at a bar in Paris in January 2018, it was on a night when neither of them really wanted to go out. Leila, who was studying journalism at the American University of Paris at the time, was at the bar for her college roommate’s last bartending shift, and Sylvain was stopping by a colleague’s going-away party.
One of Sylvain’s colleagues, Romain, approached Leila and her friends with confidence, attempting to chat up the American girls, but struck out. He tried again, and this time, he brought Sylvain—a tall man (six-foot-five, to be exact) with a “thick French accent” and a quiet, “gentle manner,” about him, as Leila recalls. Sylvain and Leila started talking, and soon discovered that they shared a similar sense of humor and a mutual love of writing. “What began as a casual conversation turned into something deeper,” Leila says.
Leila, who now works in public relations as a global travel account manager at Finn Partners, and Sylvain, who is a sustainability content manager at Economie D’Energie, soon started dating. After about two years together, they hit a milestone in their relationship when covid lockdowns began, and they decided to stay together in Leila’s small Paris studio. For a time, France’s strict protocols allowed for just one outing a day, so the couple spent nearly every moment together.
“What we lacked in space, we made up for in ritual: Apérol spritzes at golden hour, elaborate charcuterie boards, and long evenings spent watching reality television,” Leila says. They discovered that even in tough times (and in quite a small space), they felt at ease with each other. They navigated further challenges together, like visa renewals, cultural differences, and personal growth. But over time, they chose each other again and again.
In February 2025, after about seven years of dating, Sylvain proposed to Leila. But first, he asked her parents—Al Roker and Deborah Roberts—for their blessing. At Christmas 2024, while Al and Deborah were visiting the couple in Paris, Sylvain asked. “I found a quiet moment one morning to ask her father, Al, to join me for coffee at a small brasserie in our neighborhood on the Right Bank. Over two espressos, I asked for his blessing, and his warm, immediate response confirmed something I had already felt—that our families had truly come together,” Sylvain says.
For the proposal, Sylvain took Leila on a surprise trip to Venice, Italy for Carnevale, the festive season of parades known for elaborate masquerade performances. “As two Scorpios drawn to the strange and beautiful, it felt perfectly chosen,” Leila says.
After evening drinks, the two had dinner at the Hotel Danieli. “Our table overlooked the terrace and was set with a bouquet of roses and a Venetian mask, a detail that felt both romantic and theatrical,” Leila says. “After one of the best meals I’ve ever had—Venetian duck ragù, which has since become a staple in our home—the moment arrived. When I asked for the dessert menu, the server instead returned with a small cake inscribed ‘Veux-tu m’épouser?’”
