When Andrew Roderick Gilmoor left his neighborhood in Amsterdam for the first time in weeks in June 2020, he saw a familiar face. He had self-isolated in his apartment and was on his way to a Black Lives Matter protest. On Dam Square, through a crowd of thousands, “I saw this very tall, handsome man in a face mask,” he said. He guessed it was Nicholas James Leddy.
About a month earlier, the two had matched on Tinder. Although they had flirted and exchanged Instagram handles, they had not met in real life due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
When Mr Gilmoor, 35, came home from the protest, he saw that Mr Leddy, 42, had posted a video of the demonstration on Instagram – and even saw his own face in the clip. The two got back together and a few days later they met in a park for their first date, where Mr. Leddy brought his Miniature Schnauzer.
At the time, Mr. Leddy worked as a trial lawyer for the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, investigating and prosecuting war crimes. Mr. Gilmoor was completing his doctorate on trauma and PTSD in marginalized populations. “Even though it was dark, it was a good conversation starter,” said Mr. Gilmoor about their similar work background.
And of course there was also the physical attraction. “I remember Nick’s biceps bulging through his shirt as he held this little dog,” Mr Gilmoor said with a laugh.
Mr. Leddy, who grew up in Falls Church, Virginia, is now chief of litigation for Legal Action Worldwide, a nonprofit human rights organization. He holds a bachelor’s degree in urban studies and public policy from NYU, a master’s degree in international law and politics, and a law degree from American University Washington College of Law.
Mr. Gilmoor, who grew up in Philipsburg, St. Maarten, recently resigned from his role as a UX researcher at Booking.com. He has a bachelor’s degree in biomedical sciences from Utrecht University. He also holds a master’s degree in infectious disease and international public health, and a Ph.D. in global mental health, both from VU University Amsterdam.
A few weeks after dating, the duo vacationed in Corsica, and Mr. Leddy asked Mr. Gilmoor if he wanted children as he drove through the mountains. “A lot of gay people don’t want that, which is perfectly fair and within their right, but he was an enthusiastic ‘yes’ about it,” Mr Leddy said. “It was like OK, this is it.”
Not all of their travels went so smoothly. In the summer of 2021, the two visited Mr. Leddy’s parents at their summer home in Wellfleet, Massachusetts. But when the couple tested positive for Covid, the meeting had to take place remotely wearing masks.
As Mr. Leddy’s symptoms subsided, Mr. Gilmoor, who is asthmatic, began to feel short of breath and panic. “Nick knew how to keep me calm and help me focus on my breathing,” Mr Gilmoor said. “While it was a great vacation, it really brought us closer together.”
In January 2023, the couple traveled to Diani Beach in Kenya for a friend’s wedding. Mr. Leddy knew he wanted to propose during a planned private getaway afterwards on Chale Island off the coast.
During a star walk on the beach, Mr. Leddy got down on one knee and proposed with two copper rings that he had secretly gone to buy earlier that day. Mr Gilmoor was shocked. “I got down on my knees and said, ‘Are you sure?'” said Mr Gilmoor. Mr. Leddy was sure and the two were engaged.
A few months later, they packed up their lives in Amsterdam and moved to Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, to be closer to family and start building a new one.
Mr. Leddy and Mr. Gilmoor were legally married on July 6 at the Brooklyn Marriage Bureau by Huiling Zheng, an employee of the City Clerk’s Office.
When they stopped for photos on the Brooklyn Bridge, an eager stranger began snapping their photos and instructing the pair to jump up and down and kiss. They bought the photos from him, then proceeded to have a long oyster-and-champagne lunch with friends at Frenchette, a Tribeca bistro.
On July 15, the couple had another Caribbean and American-influenced ceremony at Mr Leddy’s family home in Wellfleet. Mr. Gilmoor’s mother, who is originally from Curaçao, made goody bags filled with rum cake and Guavaberry liqueur from St. Maarten/St. Martin.
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The venue was a roundabout moment for the couple. “We’ve had a lot of intense emotions here in Cape Cod over the past three years,” said Mr. Gilmoor. “We have suffered with Covid here, we have celebrated Thanksgiving and Christmas with his parents and family. I’ve seen the summers, I’ve seen the falls – it’s just a special place.
The next day, everyone gathered in Provincetown for a drag brunch, where a queen named Delta Miles serenaded the newlyweds with “Last Dance” by Donna Summer.
