Philly’s Happiest Gay Couples

Seven same-sex Philly couples reveal how they met, what they love about each other and how they make it work.

Sarah Morris (28) + Hanako Franz (26)

Franz is a ninth-grade history teacher who works with her school’s Gay-Straight Alliance; Morris, a paralegal with the Pennsylvania Institutional Law Project specializing in prison rights, is involved with the Youth Art and Self-Empowerment Project, which supports young people who are incarcerated, and Decarcerate PA, a group challenging the expansion of the prison system in the state; she also works with young people who have been tried as adults. They’ve been together for three years.

S: “We met on the dance floor at Bubble House. I was with some friends and saw Hanako and was super-shy. My friends pushed me across the dance floor.”

H: “We didn’t do the typical lesbian U-Haul move-in. I’m finally going to move in this August.”

S: “It’s built a much stronger relationship. We’re also talking about getting a dog.”

H: “We had a typical first date. Dinner in Chinatown, then we went and had drinks at Sugar Mom’s. We drank PBRs and had lollipops.”

S: “We definitely enjoy the Stimulus and Arouse scene, but we’re like old people. We like to garden and go to the movies sometimes.”

H: “I would say that Sarah is my perfect complement. She’s sweet and thoughtful, and something I really appreciate about her is that she challenges me. She doesn’t just let me win. She’s extremely passionate and hard-working and brilliant. And she’s super-sarcastic.”

S: “She’s the greatest. And she’s really supportive of everything I do. She’s also really serious about making change and supporting young people, but she can be incredibly goofy. I tend to be overly serious, and she’s good at loosening me up.”