Pride Month Meet-Cute: Women Met In Hoboken, Had To Wed In Europe

HOBOKEN, NJ — Among the festivities that took place in Hoboken to kick off Pride Month this past weekend, Mayor Ravi Bhalla oversaw the next chapter of two women's long love story that began in a hair salon.

Migdalia Pagan-Milano said on Wednesday she still gets a little overwhelmed when she tells the story of how she met her wife Lisa Milano in Hoboken in 2009 — a meeting that ultimately led them to get married 10 years ago.

"I still get flustered when I talk about it," said Pagan-Milano. "It's my favorite story to tell!"

This past weekend, Bhalla oversaw a renewal of their wedding vows from 10 years ago, but how did they meet?

"At the time, I was in cosmetology school and working at an uptown hair salon [as an assistant]," Pagan-Milano said. "I remember waiting by the reception desk for our next client (Lisa) and when she walked through that door, my heart literally skipped a beat!"

"She had this long, beautiful, voluminous hair and an adorable smile and laughter. I had no idea if she was gay or straight; I just knew that she took my breath away," Pagan-Milano said.

Pagan-Milano grew up in Hoboken, while Milano was from Upstate New York. After her move, Milano began frequenting the salon where Pagan-Milano was working as an assistant.

"I asked her stylist who confirmed she was a lesbian and single! This blew my mind and during her hair wash and head message, my heart was beating so fast that I wondered if she could feel it through my hands! We chatted about family, holidays, Hoboken and the delicious vodka infused drinks at Amanda’s which I hadn’t tried yet," Pagan-Milano said.

"After her service, as I walked her to the door, I handed her my card and said 'If you ever want to go for that vodka infused martini, call me.' We had our first date in Amanda's and the rest is history!"

Except, there is still a part of the couple's history that's — well, history.

In 2011, when the pair decided to get married, same-sex marriages were not legal in New Jersey. So they had to get married in Belgium.

Things have since changed. Gay marriage became legal in New Jersey in 2013.

“Hoboken is, and will always continue to be a city that accepts, loves and celebrates our LGBTQ+ community,” said Bhalla. “[I] send my congratulations to Migdalia Pagan-Milano and Lisa Milano on their renewal of wedding vows!”

Also at the ceremony on Saturday, Hudson Pride Center, elected officials and residents raised a Pride flag outside of City Hall and volunteers repainted four rainbow crosswalks.

"[The crosswalks send] a clear signal that that Hoboken is a safe space for all of our residents," Bhalla said.

“Pride for us, and Pride Month is a combination of celebration, protest, support and awareness,” said Elizabeth Schedl, executive director of Hudson Pride Center. “We are celebrating our lives, our identities, and our community. But it is also a time for us to educate and bring awareness to issues the queer community still faces, especially to those most discriminated against, like LGBTQ+ people of color and transgender and non-binary folks. Equality, visibility, acceptance, and legal rights and protections for all LGBTQ+ people are at the heart of any Pride celebration."

“In 2021 our current state of affairs, as it pertains to gay rights, racial inequality, gender equity and many other human rights, systemic structures in our society is in need of development and great change,” said Laura Knittel, Hoboken’s LGBTQ+ liaison.

In December, for the third year in a row, the city of Hoboken received a perfect 100 percent rating from the Human Rights Campaign’s (HRC) Municipal Equality Index (MEI), an annual examination of policies relating to LGBTQ+ laws and cities in over 500 municipalities across the United States. Hoboken is one of three municipalities in New Jersey, and one of 94 cities across the country to earn a 100 percent rating from HRC.

Hoboken earned top scores from HRC for the city’s law enforcement policies, which include reporting hate crime statistics to the FBI, the administration’s leadership on LGBTQ+ equality, non-discrimination protections covering employment, fair treatment of LGBTQ+ employees and city healthcare benefits that are transgender-inclusive.

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