America’s Most Captivating Couples 2008
Newton, Massachusetts
Jennifer Chrisler, 37, Executive Director, Family Equality Council
Cheryl Jaques, 45, Lawyer, Brody, Hardoon, Perkins & Kesten
Jennifer and Cheryl met almost 15 years ago when Jennifer got involved in Cheryl’s campaign for state senate. They were friends for five years before they started dating. As the Executive Director of the Family Equality Council (formerly Family Pride), Jennifer fights for the rights of all loving families, regardless of blood relation or sexual orientation. In addition to being a lawyer, Cheryl is the former head of the Human Rights Campaign. They are the proud parents of two sons, Tom and Tim, age five. “We love spending time with our kids, playing checkers, go fish and Connect Four. For gown-up fun, we love going to estate sales to find treasures, and taking long walks together,” says Jennifer. Their secret: “We try to remember to attack our problems instead of each other. Whenever we face adversity in our lives, we remain focused on what we are trying to solve instead of getting angry with each other about the situation we’re in. It also helps to have a good sense of humor, and to laugh together often.”
The results are in! After a grueling selection process, we’ve skimmed the sweet cream off this year’s batch of entries and whipped it into GO’s most captivating couples of 2008. Many more couples coming soon!
Marianna & Lee
Los Angeles, California & New York, New York
Marianna Fox, Singer/Songwriter, Artist, Massage Therapist
Lee Friedlander, Director/Producer
Lee and Marianna met online, and that’s all they have to say about it. Details, schmetails. These days, they’re bicoastal in Los Angeles and Manhattan’s East Village. Lee is best known for her work in television and film, most notably Exes & Ohs, Girl Play, Out at the Wedding and other works that focus on the gay community. Marianna loves to take trapeze class and travel when she’s not singing, songwriting or massaging. Their key to a rockin’ relationship: “Okay, we could say love, honesty, deep communication, and respect for each other. However, we truly believe that you either have a deep connection and chemistry, or you don’t. Oh, and of course there is our sleeping rule: always sleep naked, no matter what.”
