A British Man Gatecrashed Thanksgiving Dinner and Ended Up Marrying the Host 20 Years Ago
When British tourist Richard Steggall unexpectedly crashes Dina Honour's Thanksgiving dinner in New York, they ignite a remarkable transatlantic romance that has endured for over two decades From sharing a slice of pumpkin pie to a life-changing New Year's Eve proposal, their love story transcends borders and sparks a new chapter in Europe Explore their journey, rooted in cherished Thanksgiving traditions and bound by an unbreakable bond
Originally published on Thanksgiving 2021, this story has been updated and republished for Thanksgiving 2023.
In November 1997, Dina Honour hosted Thanksgiving dinner for the first time. The 27-year-old invited a group of friends from New York City who, like her, had chosen to stay in the city for the holidays.
Dina had a challenging year, experiencing depression following a difficult relationship. "I gradually recovered and regained a sense of normalcy, and I wasn't seeking love," Dina said in an interview with CNN Travel.
Instead of that, Dina was busy preparing to host her friends for the holiday. She arranged a dining table in the two-bedroom apartment she shared with her roommate in Brooklyn. Her sister had come over from Boston to join the celebration. Dina spent the entire morning mashing potatoes and roasting turkey.
She had requested each guest to bring something to add to the feast. Before long, her friends began to arrive, bringing holiday greetings and an assortment of dishes such as cornbread, pies, and cranberry sauce.
Then Dina opened the door to one friend, only to realize he had two mystery guests in tow.
It wasnt the kind of gathering where surprise plus-ones were welcome.
Dina reminisces, "I wasn't thrilled. But when I saw him, I changed my mind and agreed."
The man in question was Richard Steggall, a 25-year-old British tourist visiting New York City for the first time. He had traveled to the US with a close friend, whose brother lived in NYC and was also a friend of Dina's, leading to his invitation to her party.
Richard admitted that he had no idea what Thanksgiving was when he was in the UK, and was only vaguely aware of its significance. He and his friends spent their vacation in New York, enjoying the nightlife and exploring the city during the day.
On the morning of November 27th, they woke up late after a late night out. They were in search of a place to grab a meal. The American in their group informed them that it was a national holiday and that most restaurants would be closed.
"He mentioned a party that might have food," hed mentioned.
"That's how he presented it to us," Richard remembers. "We were not aware that it would be a semi-formal Thanksgiving dinner, similar to Christmas in the UK."
Richard had his first inkling that turning up uninvited was a bit of a faux pas when he saw Dinas expression when she opened her apartment door.
But he was also instantly captivated.
"From the start, I was entranced by Dina," he says today.
The feeling was mutual. Dinas frustration at the unexpected guests was quickly tempered by her instant attraction to Richard.
"He was incredibly attractive," she admitted. "It's like something out of a movie, isn't it? A mysterious and handsome stranger showing up at your door on Thanksgiving."
She ushered the unexpected visitors into the apartment, while Richard and his British companion tried to blend into the background, feeling out of place.
Richard recounted, "The other uninvited guest and I discreetly tucked ourselves into a corner, attempting to avoid drawing attention." From his vantage point in the corner, Richard observed Dina moving through the room.
"I found her to be stunning. As someone from London, she personified the New York woman," he recalls. "She had a strong, confident presence, commanding attention with her lively and humorous nature. I was immediately captivated by her."
Richard inquired about Dina from a few guests, but he avoided speaking to her directly because he didn't want to further upset the hostess, whom he had already offended by unexpectedly showing up.
Bonding over pumpkin pie
As dessert rolled around, Dina approached Richard with a slice of pumpkin pie and whipped cream - a quintessential Thanksgiving dessert thats far from common in the UK.
Richard had never attempted it previously, but he agreed without hesitation. The conversation began with Dina, an avid literature enthusiast, casually inserting a reference to Shakespeare's Ophelia. Richard immediately recognized the reference and mentioned that he was familiar with "Hamlet."
Dina recalls, "It was as if a small light suddenly turned on. Not many guys at a party, in the midst of beer and pumpkin pie, would be willing to engage in a conversation about Hamlet." From there, they spent the remainder of the evening in deep conversation, quickly forming a bond.
Richard expressed, "We shared a similar perspective on life and what matters to us as individuals and human beings. Our outlook on the world and our desires in life were also aligned."
After dinner, the group headed to a bar where Dina and Richard were so engrossed in each other that Dina's sister, who had traveled from Boston for the gathering, felt a bit irked.
"We sat at the bar, facing each other on bar stools, and pretty much ignored everyone else," she recalls. "We spent the entire night talking and all day the next day."
Richard was scheduled to fly back to London on Friday afternoon.
Dina accompanied him to the subway station and they said goodbye on the platform.
As the doors closed on the train, Dina recalls feeling a sense of certainty.
"It was really something intuitive and instinctive," she says now.
Back at her apartment, Dina confided in her sister:
"Thats the man Im going to marry."
Their flights were canceled and they spent 24 hours falling in love
Falling in love over the phone
Richard and Dina say their connection was instant.
Courtesy Dina Honour
Upon returning to the UK from his trip to New York, Richard ended his relationship with someone he had been seeing in London. "I wasn't sure how it would turn out," he recalls, "But it felt like the right decision to make."
The next day, Dina called him from New York.
And so began a month of daily, long-distance phone conversations, and the occasional letter sent across the Atlantic.
"We had a sort of old-fashioned courtship over the phone," says Dina.
She was working as a substitute teacher at the time, and would phone Richard from the school break room.
Richard worked as a flower and Christmas tree seller in Chelsea, London, and also DJed in the evenings. He would talk to Dina after finishing a long day of work or before heading out to a club. In mid-December, Richard made a suggestion.
"Listen," he said. "Why don't you come to London for Christmas?"
"I'm not sure. It's a lot. It's Christmas and I didn't spend Thanksgiving with my family. I feel like I should spend Christmas with them," Dina remembers thinking.
She hesitated to open up her heart, still recovering from a painful breakup earlier in the year. However, the idea of seizing the moment lingered in her mind.
She recalled thinking, "I don't want to look back and regret not going for it. If this is the opportunity, I can't afford to let it slip by." On a chilly December day, Dina visited a travel agent and left with a ticket to London firmly in her grasp.
"Committing to it was important," she explained. "I was willing to take a risk, hoping for the best but knowing that if it didn't work out, it wouldn't be the end of the world."
Dina attributed her sense of resilience to the hard work she put into rebuilding herself after a difficult year. She had faith in her relationship with Richard, but more importantly, she had faith in herself.
Her friends and family were "cautiously optimistic" she says. They supported her decision, and hoped her faith in Richard would prove well founded.
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A Christmas reunion
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Dina flew from New York to London on Christmas Day. At Heathrow Airport arrivals, Richard was waiting for her. It was 9 p.m. at night, and he was holding a bouquet of his Chelsea flowers.
Richard had informed his friends and family that he had met someone while on vacation in New York, but he hadn't been able to share many details about their growing relationship. "It all happened so fast between November and December - and with working, selling flowers and Christmas trees, the end of November and the whole of December were full-on, almost like 20-hour days."
In the UK, December 26 is celebrated as Boxing Day, a national holiday. On that morning, Richard and Dina traveled to his parents' house to join in the family tradition of a Champagne brunch with smoked salmon. "It's a custom for our family to gather around the table with Champagne, and Dina and I walked in to join them," remembers Richard.
After introducing Dina to his family, he briefly excused himself. When he came back, Dina was socializing and enjoying drinks with his family.
"I left her with my mum, dad, uncle, aunt, and sister, and they all hit it off," Richard recalls.
Dina expressed, "They were all extremely pleasant."
Richard shared, "My parents were thrilled that I found someone, and it was evident from the beginning that it was love - I believe they would agree that they noticed a change in me and could see how happy I was."
Later that day, Richard delighted Dina with a surprise plane ticket to Majorca, Spain for New Year's Eve with some of his friends. "It was a fantastic trip," Dina recalls, despite having to navigate through some probing questions from her new boyfriend's friends.
After the holidays, she had to go back to the US. However, Richard surprised her with a last-minute trip to New York in late January 1998, while Dina traveled to London for Valentine's Day. During the holiday, the couple rented a sports car and stayed at a luxurious hotel in Richmond, west London.
"This was completely outside of our comfort zone at the time, but we tried to recreate this romantic weekend," Richard recalls.
He had purchased a suit and a pair of smart shoes for the first time, and he remembers almost falling down the stairs at the hotel because the shoes weren't broken in properly.
He saved her from drowning and they fell in love
Moving to New York
In spring of 1998, Richard left his job at the flower market and traveled to New York for a three-month visit with Dina, intending to spend the summer with her. It wasn't meant to be a permanent move, but in hindsight, Richard believes his friends and family saw it coming.
"The farewells and celebrations had a sense of permanence, signaling the beginning of a new chapter rather than just a short-term visit. Nevertheless, Richard showed up with only a green duffel bag of clothes and settled into Dina's apartment, the same one he had unexpectedly visited the previous Thanksgiving."
During the sweltering summer days, they ventured through the city, meandering through Central Park and the East Village, solidifying their desire to be together for the long haul.
Although marriage was a possibility down the road, the couple opted to hold off on tying the knot, even though it could have been a solution for Richard to remain in the US.
"Dina stated that we both agreed that we wanted you to stay, and we would figure out a way to make that happen. We also discussed the possibility of marriage down the road, but those were separate discussions for both of us," said Dina.
As a result, Richard began to search for jobs that provided a visa, and eventually landed a position at the United Nations.
Richard jokingly said, "When I tell people the story, they can't believe it's true. They think I'm some sort of UN spy or something." Settling down in New York was a fantastic career opportunity for both Richard and Dina.
The couple who met on the beach at Byron Bay
A New Years Eve proposal
The couple got engaged at a New Year's Eve party in 1999. This photo was taken right after Richard asked Dina to marry him as the clock struck midnight.
Dina Honour recalls how the couple's story began on Thanksgiving, continued through Christmas, and took a new turn on New Year's Eve 1999 when Richard proposed as the new millennium arrived.
The couple remembered watching the fireworks burst over Sydney Harbour on CNN earlier that morning. Dina was amazed by the display, but Richard was silently nervous.
"I was just sitting there, feeling really jittery and irritable. And Dina's like, What's wrong with you, it's New Year's Eve, and it's the millennium?" Richard said with a laugh.
That night, they went to a friend's party in a high-rise apartment with a view of the city. By then, Richard's anxiety had intensified. "I was having a hard time keeping it together, I had already confided in some people," he recalls. "I told a few people, and they were really thrilled."
Richard's trembling hands gave away his nervousness as he struggled to open a bottle of Champagne, prompting more friends to notice. Finally giving up, he passed the bottle to someone else and maneuvered through the crowd to find Dina. As the clock struck midnight, he seized the moment and asked her to marry him.
"I believe I accidentally kicked him in the shin in excitement," she says.
The couple got married in April 2001 at a venue called the Manhattan Penthouse on Fifth Avenue, overlooking the New York skyline.
Courtesy Dina Honour
The couple tied the knot in April 2001 at the Manhattan Penthouse on Fifth Avenue in New York. Their British friends and family stayed at the luxurious hotels surrounding Union Square. "We wanted to give our friends and family, especially those coming from London and my hometown near Boston, a true New York experience. That's why we chose a top floor venue with windows on all sides," explained Dina.
The guests raised their glasses to toast the couple's future and admired the stunning views of the Empire State Building. Later, Dina and Richard arranged for limos to transport their guests, who then headed to bars on Union Square or enjoyed nightcaps at their hotels.
Richard said, "There are countless stories about where people end up. My father was last spotted in a limousine - I don't know if it's true, but it's become reality - standing up through the sunroof, pointing uptown as the limo drove up Broadway. It's probably an urban legend, but it's now part of our family lore."
A new chapter in Europe
The couple lived in New York City together for ten years, welcoming two sons there. Here they are with their oldest child in 2004.
Courtesy Dina Honour
After their "amazing" honeymoon in Australia, Richard and Dina settled into New York and eventually had two sons. Their lives changed in 2008 when they moved to Nicosia, Cyprus for Richard's work with the UN.
The couple felt they had outgrown their New York apartment and when the opportunity to relocate arose, Richard, who always had a bit of wanderlust, was eager for a new adventure. However, the decision to move to Cyprus wasn't easy, especially with their youngest son being only six months old at the time. Dina, who considers herself more risk-averse, was initially unsure. After a long conversation, the couple ultimately decided to take the leap.
"We decided that the pros outweighed the cons," says Dina.
Richard and Dina moved to Cyprus with their family and later Copenhagen, where they are pictured here.
Courtesy Dina Honour
The couple initially experienced some culture shock in Nicosia, but eventually formed strong friendships and fully embraced the Mediterranean lifestyle. They were delighted that their children were growing up surrounded by beautiful scenery and sunshine.
"I believe it really shifted our perspective on the type of life we could lead," Richard shared.
Instead of returning to New York City as they had planned, the family decided to relocate to Copenhagen. Now, in 2023, Dina and Richard are living in Berlin with their 19 and 15-year-old kids who, despite being born in New York, have been raised across Europe and have a passion for travel. Their oldest son is currently attending college in the UK.
Richard continues to work for the UN, while Dina has established herself as an author and editor. In 2018, she penned the book "There's Some Place Like Home: Lessons From a Decade Abroad", and more recently, in November 2023, she released a new memoir titled "It's a Lot to Unpack".
On their first date, he surprised her with a private plane ride.
Thanksgiving traditions
Thanksgiving remains an important holiday for Richard and Dina.
Courtesy Dina Honour
Richard and Dina have not lived in the US for over 10 years, but Thanksgiving continues to hold significance for the couple - after all, the holiday is what initially brought them together.
"The kids are familiar with the story; it has become a cherished part of our family's history," Dina remarks.
Richard reflects on the significance of Thanksgiving, describing it as a time for introspection and contemplation of life events. He also shares that Thanksgiving has become his favorite American holiday since moving to the US.
"It was enchanting. You would have an amazing meal, spend time with family, and then the next day just relax in your sweatpants watching TV, everyone together and unwinding," he reminisces.
Here's a recent photo of Dina, Richard and family in 2023.
Courtesy Dina Honour
When Richard and Dina initially relocated to Cyprus, they attempted to replicate the traditional US Thanksgiving customs. But as they acclimated to their life in Europe, their observance of the holiday, which is a regular workday in Europe, evolved. They established a new tradition of dining out together as a family to contemplate their blessings. This year will bring a change in dynamics as their eldest son will be attending college in the UK, but Dina and Richard are still intending to celebrate.
"Dina mentioned that we'll be going out for dinner with our younger son and raising a toast to the success of our older son as he ventures into the world."
"Even without pumpkin pie, we always have so much to be grateful for and are thankful for having each other."
Richard and Dina express eternal gratitude for their fortuitous first meeting, immediate connection, and ongoing conversations.
"We continue to spend countless hours engaging in deep conversations," says Dina.
"Dina offering me that pumpkin pie was the start of that conversation, which has now been going on for 26 years," says Richard.
