Love in Antarctica: How a couple met in the coldest place on earth

research station
Hot love in the coldest place on earth: Couple find each other in Antarctica

by Eugene Epp
2/2/2022 3:59 p.m

Antarctica, with its perpetual ice and cold temperatures, is not a human-friendly place. Unlike any other continent on earth, there are no indigenous people there. In addition to penguins and seals, Antarctica is only populated by a few scientists who conduct research in the ice. Not exactly the ideal place for a partner search, one would think.

And yet, that’s where Nicole McGrath and Cole Heinz met – at McMurdo Research Station. This is all the more unlikely because the two Americans are not even researchers. But the scientists in Antarctica also have to be taken care of, which is why kitchen staff and caretakers also work on the station. McGrath and Heinz first met there in 2013 – they are now married and have a two-year-old daughter.

Love in Antarctica: “Everywhere is ice”

McGrath was 25 at the time and Antarctica was a great adventure for her. After graduating from college, she was undecided about what career path she wanted to pursue. When she heard about the job offer in Antarctica, she applied immediately. “Who can say he was in Antarctica?” she told CNN. It took a few years before it was taken into account, then the journey to the coldest place in the world began.

“There’s ice everywhere and the cold hits you like a slap in the face,” recalls the woman, who originally hails from warm Florida, of her first impressions. Her current husband was also one of these impressions: Cole Heinz, then 29 years old, was already doing his fourth assignment on the ward and was entrusted with the task of familiarizing the newcomers. They will remember their first conversation for a long time. “I came to Antarctica to find a man,” McGrath joked, alluding to the fact that three-quarters of the station’s workforce is male.

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Dates in Antarctica – the penguins are always there

Both got along very well right away, and after three days it was the “first official date,” as the couple calls it. They hiked to a hut built by Robert Falcon Scott during his famous exploration of Antarctica in the early 1900s. The date went well — “and that made it clear,” summarizes McGrath. Above all, she and her husband have a dry sense of humor in common. “We crack jokes and make each other laugh all the time, it bonded us from day one,” the 33-year-old told CNN.

It was often not easy to find privacy on the ward: McGrath likes to compare the atmosphere with a student residence. Dorms, movie nights together, bad internet. Spending time together was difficult – and what do you actually do together in such an inhospitable area? “You have to be a little creative,” admits Heinz, a native of Texas. They often just went hiking, wrapped up thickly, looked at the penguins or looked out for seals and whales.

Relationship works even without ice

Nevertheless, there was a certain uncertainty for a long time, says McGrath: “McMurdo sometimes felt like a fantasy world, like a reality show.” After her interlude in Antarctica, McGrath had planned a trip to New Zealand, and Heinz had actually agreed to continue working at the station – the physical separation, at least, seemed inevitable. After some discussions, both then decided to travel to New Zealand together and explore the country in the camper.

A long-distance relationship then followed: McGrath temporarily returned to Antarctica, her boyfriend could not come with her. After those five months, Nicole McGrath was sure, “If I can live in a van with this guy and have a long-distance relationship, then it has to be something long-term.” And that’s going quite well so far: McGrath and Heinz married in 2017 and now live in Albany, New York State. There they do quite ordinary jobs: McGrath works in the traffic department, her husband in an auto repair shop.

Sources: CNN / “Times Union”