Daniel Penny Has 'Meet-Cute' at New York City Bodega

Ahead of Valentine’s Day, Marine veteran Daniel Penny’s “meet-cute” moment sparks speculation that he and notable podcast host Aubrey Strobel may be a couple.

Strobel ran into Penny while he was picking out flowers outside the shop.

“I was leaving the gym and was walking on the street, and I saw a guy that looked like Daniel Penny – you know, he has that very unique look,” Strobel, the host of the Aubservation, a financial technology and cryptocurrency podcast, said.

“I said, ‘I just wanted to tell you I’m sorry for everything you had to go through, and I also wanted to thank you for being brave and standing up for other New Yorkers when you didn’t have to do that,’” she continued.

“new york just feels safe nowadays,” she wrote in late January, sharing a picture of her and Penny.

In early December, jurors found Penny not guilty of criminally negligent homicide in the death of Jordan Neely.

“He was like, ‘Thank you so much,’ in a really humble way, almost self-deprecating – he was just really kind, really warm,” Strobel recounted.

The post immediately went viral, sparking speculation that the two might become a couple.

“A lot of people on X think we’re getting married now, because the picture does look a little romantic with him holding the flowers,” the podcast host said laughingly.

“People have been like, ‘Gosh, this is the perfect couple, blah blah blah’ — but I don’t know if he has a girlfriend, or who he was even buying the flowers for,” she continued.

“I’m just happy to be friends with him,” Strobel added.

Penny has become a sensation recently; he was seen taking pictures with then-President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance at the Army-Navy college football game in mid-December.

Signature venture capitalist firm Andreessen Horowitz hired the Marine veteran in January. Penny will work in Manhattan on its American Dynamism project, which aims to boost its relationship with the Department of Defense and public safety sector.

“I believe, as I know many of you do, that Daniel acted with courage in a tough situation. He was acquitted of all charges. Beyond that, it has always been our policy to evaluate the entire person and not judge them for the worst moment in their entire life,” Andreessen Horowitz partner David Ulevitch wrote in a memo announcing their hiring of Penny.