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!
Candy & Salene
Oakland, California
Candy Diaz, 31, Trial Consultant
Salene Castaneda, 31, Production Artist
Candy and Salene went to the same college and lived within two blocks of each other without ever meeting. Four years later, Candy quit her job at a bar, and Salene was hired to replace her. A few weeks after that, Candy came back to visit her old coworkers, and she saw Salene for the first time. “She was beautiful, outgoing and friendly, with a contagious laugh you could hear across the room,” says Candy. Neither of them was single at the time, so they decided to be just friends. It was another six years before the timing worked out, but the best things come to those who wait. They were married on Thanksgiving Eve of 2006, and hope to become parents within the next five years. Together they run GirlonGirl Dodgeball, a nonprofit, women-only tournament which benefits girls’ athletics in the East Bay area. Their secret: “Persistence and perseverance. Truly, if things are meant to be, they will be.”
