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Most of the women who are in Pelican Town grew up there, but Leah is an exception. Leah is the resident visual artist in Stardew Valley, and she makes sculptures out of wood. Her romance route involves exploring her artistic world and helping her grow her talent. She is a bit harder to romance than some other characters as her loves won't be available straight away, and her schedule is a bit busy.

Related: Stardew Valley: A Complete Guide To Marrying Haley

Luckily, she makes up for this by having mostly foraging items as likes, which can make the process a lot less taxing on you. Those who are hoping to marry Leah should check out the helpful guide for info on her schedule, favorite gifts, and more.

Updated April 21, 2023 by Jacqueline Zalace: Leah is a complex character in Stardew Valley, drawing in gamers new and old. We've updated this guide with even more Leah-related information, as well as removed any potential spoilers for her romantic route.

Leah's Basic Info

Stardew Valley Split Image - Leah (left - closeup of face) (right - textbox of character talking)

To ensure you can marry Leah quickly, you should make a note of when her birthday is and where she lives. She has her clinic visit early in the year compared to other characters, which may throw some people off.

  • Birthday: Winter 23
  • Home Location: Cottage in Cindersap Forest
  • Clinic Visit: Spring 16
  • Night Market Visit: Winter 15
  • Occupation: Artist

Leah's Schedule

Stardew Valley - leah outside (left), leah in her cottage (right)

Leah is an NPC who does tend to move around a lot which can make finding her a bit hard. Below, you can find her schedule for every season.

Spring

Summer

Fall

Winter

Deviations

The Best Places To Find Leah

player inside saloon, full of NPCs

The best place to find Leah is at the saloon. At the start of the game, you won't have access to her cabin; rather than running around looking for her, just head to the saloon.

Leah will be here nearly every Friday and Saturday, along with a group of additional NPCs. You can talk with Leah, as well as other villagers to build up more friendships at the same time.

Gifting to Leah

Stardew Valley - leah getting a gift

Leah has a bit of an expensive taste when it comes to love, and chances are most farmers will struggle with getting her favorite items early in the game. Thankfully, many of her liked gifts come from foraging.

To romance any NPC in Stardew Valley, you need to increase your friendship level with them. It's represented by little hearts next to their name in the Social menu. To make sure you can romance Leah as soon as possible, talk to her every day and give her gifts twice a week!

Loves (+80 points)

  • Goat Cheese
  • Poppyseed Muffins
  • Salad
  • Stir Fry
  • Truffles
  • Vegetable Medley
  • Wine
  • Universal Loves

Likes (+45 points)

  • Many foraged goods (Blackberry, Chanterelle, Common Mushroom, Daffodil, Dandelion, Ginger, Hazelnut, Holly, Leek, Magma Cap, Morel, Purple Mushroom, Salmonberry, Snow Yam, Spring Onion, Wild Horseradish, Winter Root)
  • Driftwood
  • Earth Crystals
  • Diamonds
  • Life Elixir
  • Maple Syrup
  • Any type of Milk
  • All Fruit
  • All Eggs
    • Except Void Eggs (she hates them)

  • Most cooked dishes
    • Except Carp Surprise, Cookie, Ice Cream, Pink Cake, Rice Pudding, Survival Burger, and Tortilla (she dislikes all of them), Hashbrowns, Pancakes, and Pizza (she hates all three), Bread and Fried Eggs (universal neutrals), Strange Buns and Seafoam Pudding (universal hates), and the ones she loves instead (listed above)

  • All Flowers
    • Except Poppies (she hates them)

  • Almost all Artisan Goods
    • Except Oil (she dislikes it) and Void Mayonnaise (she hates it). Additionally, she loves Goat Cheese and Wine

  • Most Vegetables
    • Except Hops, Tea Leaves, and Wheat (universal neutrals) and Unmilled Rice (a universal dislike)

Neutrals (+20 points)

  • Universal Neutrals
    • Except Bread (she hates it), Fried Eggs (she dislikes them), and Truffles (she loves them)

Dislikes (-20 points)

  • Quartz
  • Fire Quartz
  • Frozen Tears
  • Some cooked dishes (Carp Surprise, Cookie, Fried Egg, Ice Cream, Pink Cake, Rice Pudding, Survival Burger, Tortilla)
  • Seaweed
  • Most gems
    • Except Prismatic Shards (universal love) and Diamonds (she likes them)

  • Universal Dislikes
    • Except Driftwood and Spring Onions (she likes both) and Void Eggs (she hates them)

Hates (-40 points)

  • Bread
  • Hashbrowns
  • Pancakes
  • Pizza
  • Void Eggs
  • Universal Hates
    • Except Seaweed (she just dislikes it)

The Best Gifts To Give

If you are looking for efficient gifts to give Leah, try to focus on foraged items. These can easily be found around the valley, making them free.

If you want to stock up on a gift and don't mind spending money, you can also buy several salads from the saloon. Salad is one of Leah's loved gifts and will cost you just 220g.

Dating Leah

Stardew Valley - Leah 14 heart event 2

Leah may spend a lot of time wandering around outdoors for inspiration, but most of her events will trigger when entering her home. Her events revolve around her art and you helping her to make her next masterpiece. Below, you can check out how to trigger Leah's cutscenes.

There are a lot of dialogue options in her events that can help you gain or lose friendship points.

Event

How To Trigger

Choices

Two Hearts

Enter Leah's home while she's there

  • "It's the same with people." (No effect on friendship)
  • "I actually prefer the look of raw, unadulterated wood." (No effect on friendship)
  • "(creepy) May I have a kiss?" (-100 friendship points)
    • If you choose this option, you aren't able to advance to the next dialogue prompt, and you'll never be able to see her eight-heart event.

If you chose a non-creepy response, you will then have to choose one of the following:

  • "Why don't you have an art show in town?" (Her art show during her eight-heart event will be held in town)
  • "Why don't you sell your art on the internet?" (Her eight-heart event won't feature an art show)

Both of these options have no effect on friendship.

Four Hearts

Enter Leah's home while she's there

"No, it had to be done." (No effect on friendship) "No, and your ex sounds like an idiot." (No effect on friendship) "No, but you would've been better off staying in the city." (-20 friendship points) "Yeah, a little." (-20 friendship points) "Yeah, but it's natural to care about yourself first." (-20 friendship points)

Six Hearts

This is made up of two separate cutscenes, triggered in the following ways:

  • Leave your house on a non-rainy day between 6 am and 11:30 am
  • Enter the Cindersap Forest anytime Leah is scheduled to be there (any season but Winter)

There are no important choices to be made here.

Eight Hearts

  • If you suggested she host an art show, go to town between 3 pm and 5 pm
  • If you told Leah she should sell her art online, enter her home whenever she is there.

There are no important choices to be made here.

Ten Hearts

Enter Cindersap Forest between 11 am and 4 pm (any season but Winter)

There are no important choices to be made here.

Once you reach eight hearts with an NPC, you can start dating them! It will prompt Pierre to send you a letter to inform you that he's started selling a new item: Bouquets, for 200g each. If you give one to an NPC, it means you're asking to become their partner.

All you need to do is buy one of these bad boys and gift it to Leah. As long as her friendship level hasn't dropped for some reason, she'll happily accept! You'll unlock the ability to reach 10 hearts of friendship with her and her status in the Social menu will change to "Girlfriend."

Marrying Leah

stardew valley - old mariner selling you a mermaid's pendant

You can propose marriage to a romanceable NPC once you've reached ten hearts of friendship with them. Mayor Lewis will send you a note to tip you off, saying that people in Stardew Valley propose by giving one another something called a Mermaid's Pendant. Annoyingly, he doesn't tell you how to get it.

That's what we're here for! You can buy a Mermaid's Pendant from a special NPC called the Old Mariner, who only appears on the beach on rainy days. You'll need to have that little wooden bridge on the beach repaired because he's next to the tide pools. When you find him, he'll sell you the Mermaid's Pendant for 5,000g if the following qualifications are met:

  • You still have 10 hearts with a romanceable NPC
  • You've upgraded your farmhouse at least once

The only way to trigger the Old Mariner's appearance during the Winter is to use a rain totem.

Stardew Valley - leah wedding (left), leah spouse room (right)

Then, if Leah still has ten hearts of friendship with you, you can give the Mermaid's Pendant to her and she'll agree to marry you! Your wedding is set for three days later (or four, if something happens to be going on in town on the day you're supposed to get married).

Afterward, you and Leah will be transported back to the farm. Leah, like all marriage candidates, adds a unique room to the right-hand side of the farmhouse and a couple of decorations outside (in her case, a place for her to carve). You'll also be able to go up to 14 hearts in your relationship with her.

Marriage Schedule

Stardew Valley - leah on the farm

When Leah moves in, she will spend her day doing the following tasks.

  • Watering crops
  • Feeding animals
  • Watering the animal bowl
  • Repairing broken fences
  • Giving you gifts
  • Decorating the house
  • In her unique outside area
  • In her unique indoor room

However, all spouses occasionally leave the farm (some more than others). Leah doesn't leave very often, because she doesn't have a formal job. She only goes away on Mondays; you can check out this day's schedule below.

When

Where

8:30 am

Goes to the bridge southwest of her cottage in Cindersap Forest

3:00 pm

Stands outside her cottage

5:30 pm

Returns home

Leah's Fourteen Hearts Cutscene

Every marriage candidate has a 14-heart event that you can experience once you're married to them. For Leah, you activate it by reaching 14 hearts with her and then leaving the farmhouse between 5 am and 8:20 am. It cannot be Winter or a Sunday.

For the next part, go to Cindersap Forest on a sunny day anytime between 11:30 am and 2:00 pm.

Maintaining Marriage Or Choosing Divorce

player interacting with divorce book in mayor lewis' house

To maintain a happy married life, all you need to do is talk to Leah every day. You won't need to give her daily gifts, but she will still accept them. Additionally, if you interact with Leah enough in a short period of time, the two of you will kiss!

If the marriage takes a turn for the worse, and you want to divorce, the process is quite simple. Head to the Mayor's house and interact with the books on the left side of his kitchen. Here, you can pay a fee to get divorced. After divorcing Leah, she will be a bit mad at you, and interactions will be strained. Thankfully, you can wipe her memory with a unique shrine that unlocks after completing some tasks for the Wizard.

Next: Stardew Valley: Complete Guide And Walkthrough