About Us: Whitney and Rory
Rory, a changemaker and yoga teacher, and Whitney, a content creator and social media strategist, share a love that has reshaped their lives, blending discipline with spontaneity and deep connection with joyful freedom.
What have you've learned about yourself through your relationship?
Rory: I've learned that there are parts of myself that were laying dormant before that Whitney brought out and allowed me to feel comfortable with. We all describe ourselves in a certain way and use similar adjectives and often consider ourselves in quite a fixed way. But even my friends since I've met Whitney, they call me Mr. Smiles and they've seen other sides to me that weren't there before. I've just embraced a more playful and joyous and kind of happy-go-lucky sort of attitude towards parts of my life which has been really enjoyable.
Whitney: I think it's an interesting thing when you find your soulmate because this is the truest version of myself and I'm able to express it to someone else. I've seen the depths of my personality and who I am.
How has your partner changed the way you view love?
Rory: Since I met Whitney, I've really allowed my whole trajectory and my sense of future to be dictated by our love. It's the first time I've ever been with someone and considered me and them one and the same. Every plan I have now is with Whitney in mind, every life ambition, every future version of myself is as much a part of her as it is me. It's all driven by the love we have for each other. And that's extended to our families too. We both really value our families. I've ended up spending more time not just with my family, but with hers too. I think our love has had a ripple effect on those close to us as well. We've seen the boundlessness and the infectiousness of love and how that can then ripple out to those around us.
What qualities do you love about your partner?
Whitney: He is so kind. I always describe Rory as a man of honour. He really sticks to what he says he's going to do. He's very intentional about everything that he does. That can be seen in all areas of his life, even from his history and his background to how people talk about him and the friendships he has around him. He's beautiful. You just don't find men like Rory.
Rory: Whitney's just the most wonderful, weird, sexy and just gorgeous person inside and out. Sshe's an incredibly smiley person and she really lights up the room. She will give everyone her fullest and most positive energy. You don't gossip about people, you don't talk bad about people, you always see the light in others. And I think that's a reflection of the light that's within you.
What's one thing you've learnt about yourself in your relationship?
Whitney: I've learnt that to be a bit more disciplined is not always a bad thing. I'm a free spirit and that serves me in many areas of life and that is my nature. But a bit of discipline is good. And I've tried to incorporate that more into my life to become a greater version of myself.
Rory: I think I've learnt the opposite. Spontaneity, an element of recklessness and just going with the flow. Not always knowing what the time is, not always knowing what you might be doing next. Letting go a bit and embracing the moment and moving towards joy, pleasure and fun.
Did you first realise you were in love?
Rory: So Whitney and I met at the start of summer in 2022 in Berlin. When I got back to the UK after that trip and it was a bit up in the air about whether we would see each other again, I experienced my first genuine heartbreak. I felt this genuine pain in my chest and I was like, what is this? This is what they do in the movies but this is not a real thing, is it? And I had this immense physical connection that even though I was not with her, that I was feeling for her. And so after that point, I knew I needed to make sure I got back to Berlin and made it a thing.
Whitney: I don't remember the exact time but I remember before we actually told each other we loved each other, I knew that I loved you but I was like, I'm not going to say it first. You have to say it first. But I knew that we loved each other. It was just beyond anything that I've ever experienced and so genuine and pure and true.
Rory: We were both at a time in our lives as well where we were about to turn 30 and we'd been through what we'd been through separately and we really knew what real love felt like and what we wanted from a relationship. And without meaning to, we really weren't looking to find the connection that we ended up having but we did. Without saying anything to each other, things moved pretty quickly.
How would you describe your partner’s natural scent?
Rory: Whitney's scent is kind of a reflection of the woman she is. It's warm and it's delicate and it's just kind of very unique to her. It's a very familiar scent which kind of makes me feel whole again.
Whitney: I would describe Rory scent as very masculine and warm. Like a really nice, musky, manly ooze. You just want to smother your face in it.
