Once it finally happened, their second date, on Valentine’s Day in 2018, was just as lively as the first.
“Both of us realized we are both very intense, very intentional,” Mr. Chiu said.
“We share the same values,” Dr. Patel said, and “are very family-oriented.”
Before the spring of 2018 had ended, they were in love.
When the pandemic struck in 2020, the two were living together in Mr. Chiu’s 650-square-foot condominium in the Dolores Heights section of San Francisco, and had just begun renovating the condominium in the city’s Twin Peaks neighborhood where they now live. While that time brought disagreements and challenges, such as the loss of half their contractors with the arrival of Covid, the togetherness deepened their relationship.
“It was at that moment, I was like, ‘Oh, I really want to marry this guy because when the world stops, this is who I want to be with,’” said Mr. Chiu, the senior director for oncology marketing at Guardant Health in Palo Alto, Calif.
“I’ve never met someone who is constantly trying to do better in the relationship,” said Dr. Patel, a radiation oncologist who is now a principal medical director in health equity and inclusive research at Genentech, the biotechnology company in South San Francisco, Calif.
On May 7, the two were married in a ceremony that reflected both Indian and Chinese wedding traditions at Casa Real at Ruby Hill Winery in Pleasanton, Calif.
