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!
DIANA & INGA
The Bronx, NY
Diana, 35, paramedic
Inga, 33, nurse
Holidays seem to be good luck for Inga and Diana—they met on Father´s Day in 2010 and got engaged the following Christmas. Married since 2012, they recently bought their first home in the Bronx and are finally getting the chance to enjoy it. "We went through a major renovation, which took four months, but now it´s our dream home," says Inga. "We´re looking forward to the first of many holidays here." (GO interviewed the two before Christmas.) In addition to living in the Bronx, they´re engaged with the community there through their jobs. "My wife is a paramedic for the FDNY, stationed out of Jacobi Medical Center, and I work as a registered nurse for Montefiore in outpatient oncology, administering chemotherapy to cancer patients," says Inga. They want to become parents, but had to take a break from trying when house-buying took over; they hope to get going again on that in 2015. In the meantime, the two enjoy spoiling their fur babies: Blackie, a 7-year-old, 40-pound poodle-terrier mix, and Precious, a 5-year-old, 5-pound Chihuahua. Travel is also a fun hobby for the couple and they´ve been to some pretty exotic locales, including Costa Rica, Cancun and the Dominican Republic. Viewing a Facebook photo of the dynamic duo dancing at their wedding, one poster was moved to comment. "Beautiful," she wrote, and we can´t help but second that emotion.
