Captivating Couples 2015
Phoenix, AZ
Gwen, 43, dental hygienist
Ronda, 47, corporate travel agent
"Seriously, our biggest challenge has been our timing," say Gwen and Ronda. "We have always known that we were meant for each other, but circumstances seemed to always keep us from having a relationship." They first met 17 years ago in Alaska, but were both with other people. Then they had a period when they were free, but didn´t want to mess up their friendship. "As the years went by, one of us was ready to commit and the other wasn´t, and it went back and forth like that for years… Thankfully, fate stepped in–we were reunited three years ago, and haven´t spent a moment (besides work) apart ever since," says Gwen. The thing that once kept them apart, their friendship, is now the thing that binds them together. And fate seems to be in their corner this time. Not only was same-sex marriage recently made legal in Arizona, but they also just won a contest to get a free dream wedding, courtesy of the Hotel Palomar in Phoenix! "I used to have a lot of regret about [the years spent apart]," says Gwen, "wishing we would have just been together from day one, but now, as I look back, it was so important for us to have our own life experiences first, so we could be ready to totally commit to the one."
All you need is love!
BITCH & BILLIE JO
Los Angeles, CA
Bitch, 41, musician
Billie Jo, 34, conceptual artist
Bitch and Billie Jo make more than a cute couple—they also make important art. Bitch, in case you´ve been living under a rock, was half of queercore duo Bitch and Animal, has performed solo and with her band, Bitch+The Exciting Conclusion, and has toured with Ani DiFranco and The Indigo Girls. She´s released ten studio albums, like Make This Break This (2006) and the more recent Blasted! (2010). She also worked with the lesbian folk icon Ferron, producing two albums and a documentary (in collaboration with Billie Jo) about the artist. Plus, as if that weren´t enough, she´s a composer, actor (she was in the film Shortbus) and performance artist. Like her partner, Billie Jo also blazes a unique artistic trail. She is a conceptual artist who works in video, sculpture, painting and music. The couple, who met at a Brooklyn dance party, joke that their success is due to mutual enjoyment of "sugarless milkshakes," but really it´s that they´ve formed a mutual admiration society. Bitch loves Billie´s intellect while Billie enjoys Bitch´s optimism. Traveling non-stop has been tough on their relationship, and they´ve found that rescuing another dog has eased that burden. They also try to work together whenever possible. Billie Jo (using the name Alligator) is a part of Bitch´s new musical project called BEACH. She´s created several videos for the group and Bitch´s music video for her song "Kitchen." Catch it on Bitch´s bitchmusic Channel on YouTube.
