As part of our From San Diego, with Love series, we're honored to share heartfelt stories from our community. Every love story has more to tell — this is one of them.
It’s funny how life sets up moments that will echo through our lives — the right place, the right time, a familiar habit leading to something entirely unexpected. For Sue Whitaker and her husband, Marc, love didn’t start with a grand gesture or a perfect first date. It began with a nostalgic climb, a swing from a tree branch and an accidental injury that turned into the start of something beautiful.
On how Sue met Marc
Back East, I had a big old maple tree in my backyard with a fairly low, large branch. I wasn’t very athletic, but I could climb up on it and hang out. I just enjoyed that tree a lot.
It was the summer before my senior year, and the person who’s now my husband — well, we had some mutual friends, so I had seen him around and liked him. It turned out he was also going to this summer event we called the Summer Safari, a little barbecue and bonfire.
While I was there, I spotted a tree that reminded me an awful lot of this maple that used to be in my backyard. It had a low branch that I could climb on. The sun was going down, and it was just beautiful. I was reminiscing about home — I had only been out here for a few years and I had left a lot of people behind.
Eventually, I decided to get down. I was going to grab the branch and swing down, but unbeknownst to me, my now-husband came up to help me down. He thought he was being really helpful, but he didn't say anything. So I swung down on this branch, and I clocked him right on the lip with my foot and his lip burst open.
It was bleeding all over the place. I felt really bad. And again, without knowing it, he really played it up. It turns out that earlier in the day, his own dog had reached up and snipped him in the lips. So his lip had already been broken open, and it didn't take much to bust it open again, but he didn't tell me that until much later.
That night, we ended up spending the rest of the evening together. By the bonfire, I was leaning back, and he was behind me. At one point, he took my hands in his, and after that, he asked me out. We've been together ever since.
On the moment she knew it was something special
It didn’t take too long. One of our first dates was a Disney movie — we can’t remember which one, but we think it was either “The Jungle Book” or “101 Dalmatians.” We had only been together for a short time, maybe a month or so, when he decided to tell me that he thought he loved me. I liked him, and he was such a nice guy.
"I’ve always felt like we had a very 50-50 relationship, and boy, that makes a big difference. When you know the other person is doing their share and you’re doing yours."Sue Whitaker
We were both pretty young. I still had to finish high school and then go off to college and everything. It took forever for him to propose. I guess I could have done it, but, so we were together eight years before we got married. Our napkins at the wedding said, “Sue and Marc. It's about time.”
On how love changed her perspective
First of all, we started off as really good friends, and I think that makes a big difference.
When we got married, there was just a sense of comfort. You just knew that whatever happened during your day, you’re coming home to somebody that cares about you and you care about them. You didn’t have to do anything crazy — you just had to be together. There was a real sense of comfort in the marriage.
On SDSU’s role in their love story
He was born in San Diego, and I came from back East. I was going to a different university initially — remember, I met him the year before my senior year — and then I went to a different university than he did.
He was at San Diego State, and I was struggling at the university I was at. He said, “Why don’t you come spend a day on my campus?” San Diego State is right in the middle of everything, and it was so sunny. The campus I was at was always overcast and had kind of a gray vibe to it.
So I went. And here I was, in this place that looked like San Diego — it was sunny, there was green and the people were happy and really friendly. I changed universities the next semester.
On the little things that make their love special
We actually had a friend notice something that I’ve kind of always known. He’s a good friend, and he commented on our relationship once, saying that we were “equally yoked,” meaning we both pulled our weight in the relationship.
I’ve always felt like we had a very 50-50 relationship, and boy, that makes a big difference. When you know the other person is doing their share and you’re doing yours.
On the soundtrack of their love story
That’s easy: “Happy to Be Stuck with You” by Huey Lewis and the News.
It’s a love song, but in a kind of funny way. It says, “We’ve been together for so long, we have all the same friends, we do all the same things. I don’t want to change — I’m just happy to be stuck with you.”
