America’s Most Captivating Couples 2007
Daria “Deno” Orechwa
27, Graduate Student/Youth Services Counselor
Ingrid “Inno” Dahl
26, Rock Musician/Editor/GO Writer/Founding Member of the Willie Mae Rock Camp for Girls
San Francisco, CA & Jersey City, NJ
Deno and Inno met at Rutgers University in (year). Today, Deno is a graduate student at San Francisco State, and assists queer teens at the Huckleberry House shelter. Her goal is to open a queer community center someday with its own thrift store. At the Willie Mae Rock Camp for Girls, Inno also works with teens—managing their bands and teaching them to play different instruments. In addition, she’s a writer for GO and plays in the groups Boyskout, The 303s, and Lismore. This couple, who say they “like to make out and lay on each other everywhere we go,” are currently in a long-distance relationship. What keeps it on track? “Teamwork; consideration; independence; admiration; text messages; imaginary scenarios; missing one another; extreme cuteness; generosity; and phenomenal sex.”
It was difficult to narrow down the entries, but we finally did it–and the result is the year’s most captivating couples! Ranging from a historic preservationist to a superhero to a TV talk show host (times two), it’s great to see so many proud women, not just in love, but spreading that love around and making the world a brighter place. Their stories inspired us, and we know they’ll inspire you, too. Say hello to this year’s sweethearts.
MARYLOU & ALINA
Marylou Stewart
49, Photographer
Alina Wilczynski
37, Graphic Designer, Wabi-Sabi Artist, Co-Founder of OP/LYNX (The Women’s Division of Out Professionals)
Long Island, NY
Marylou and Alina met at a fundraiser for the Long Island Lesbian Cancer Initiative in October 2003. They had their first kiss in June 2004 at one of New York’s most lovliest locations—Lincoln Center. And that kiss, they say, “confirmed the power of our connection.” Did it ever! A week later, Marylou proposed marriage and Alina said yes. “Everything just flowed,” Alina says, “and felt so natural, like we had always been together. Our values, desires and outlook on life and learning matched perfectly.” What keeps Marylou and Alina together “is self love and self-respect. We allow each other to be all of who we are—our greatest strengths and brilliance, to our deepest fears and questioning.” The relationship got through the difficulties of Marylou’s ovarian cancer recurring—twice, and they say they’ve learned to “embrace the healing process as it presents itself, without questioning it, because choosing to do whatever it takes to regain health is to choose life, to choose love.”
