Sure, the perfect romantic evening for me would entail sitting on the couch with my boyfriend, eating fried chicken, drinking cheap wine and watching American Idol (that Simon just makes me wanna cuddle!). But, that’s just me. Call me naive, but I truly believe that romance still exists, even with all the crappy guys out there in the cruel, cruel dating world.

Among all this week’s paternity tests and ignorant and racial slurs, there have been several uplifting stories of romance sure to make up for the recent lowlights.

Take Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams. They’ve been together ever since they met during the filming of The Notebook; only like, the most romantic tear-jerker of our time! I watched that movie by myself, and went into it thinking, “No way am I going to cry. This ain’t no Titanic.” By the end, I was a sobbing mess.

There have been rumors of a wedding on and off now for a couple of years, but now mags like Us Weekly have been reporting that these two really good-looking Canadian love birds are actually getting married this time. Even cuter? They grew up in the same ‘hood, but didn’t meet until The Notebook! They probably passed eachother on the street all the time as kids, but fate eventually took its course.

Sigh.

Or take this story, about a 24-year-old British guy who had a dream about a random phone number, texted that phone number and asked the person, “Did I meet you last night?” and even though she never gave her number out, 22-year-old Michelle began exchanging texts and calls back. The two ended up falling in love and getting MARRIED. They just got back from their honeymoon! WTF!?! That’s fate at its finest.

Sigh.

And finally, we have the strangest looking couple ever, Travis Barker and Shanna Moakler, the couple who just a few months ago were incessantly bashing eachother in every single gossip column. The same woman who created a very violent and gruesome cake to celebrate her divorce, and the same guy who flaunted Paris Hilton around at the same parties Shanna attended, are now hopelessly back in love, as People.com reports. Not that these two have a chance in hell of lasting through the year, but for now, it’s just another tale of romance in the face of so many negative media scandals.

Siiiiiiiiigh.