NYC Couple Could Make History In ‘America’s Favorite Couple’ Contest

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — An engaged couple with deep ties to the Upper West Side and Hell's Kitchen is among 14 finalists competing to be crowned "America's Favorite Couple" — a title they hope could carry significance far beyond their upcoming wedding.

Evan Enslow has worked at Upper West Side Italian restaurant Salumeria Rosi for nearly 15 years, while his fiancé, Aaron Prior, has worked at neighborhood restaurant Westville for three years.

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The couple entered the national competition shortly after getting engaged in May.

What began as a way to help pay for their wedding soon became a bid to make history as the contest's first LGBTQ winners, Enslow told Patch.

"What would that represent for America, to have America's favorite couple be gay?" Enslow said. "We think that would be super powerful and super needed right now."

The last day of voting in the contest is on Thursday.

Prior proposed on his birthday after inviting 50 friends and relatives from around the country to a movie theater. He screened a film about the obstacles the couple overcame while dating long-distance — and then revealed that their loved ones were sitting in the audience.

The two have been together for a little more than three years. During the early months of their relationship, Aaron lived in South Jersey, and the couple traveled back and forth before he eventually moved to New York.

After the proposal, they began entering contests and raffles that could help cover wedding costs. They discovered "America's Favorite Couple" through Instagram.

The contest began with approximately 200,000 couples and raises money for Oceana and the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, according to Enslow.

Supporters can cast one free vote each day or receive additional votes by making charitable donations.

After eight weeks of voting, the Upper West Side couple reached the final 14.

"The way the Upper West Side just kind of exploded on one of those days was really amazing," Enslow said. "We were on the verge of having a panic attack in those last five minutes watching the votes come in."

The winners will receive $20,000, a feature in Variety and a group date with celebrity couples Jeff Goldblum and Emilie Livingston, Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen, and Charlie Day and Mary Elizabeth Ellis.

If they win, the couple plans to put some of the prize money toward a cruise-ship wedding in Greece with friends and relatives.

They would also invest in their professional dreams. Enslow, an actor and film producer, launched a production company in 2020 and has been developing a feature film. Prior hopes to open residential care facilities for adults with disabilities on the East Coast.

"We're two people that work extremely hard and have really big dreams," Enslow said. "If we took that title, we would carry that crown as far as it would go."

For questions, email Miranda.Levingston@Patch.com.