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!
Veronica & Julie
Salem, Massachusetts
Veronica Arnao, 37, Dental Assistant
Julie “The Scoring Machine” Flachs, 32, Teacher, Field Hockey Coach
“This is our first time coming out in public!” Julie says. “My current employer doesn’t even know!” They met online over a year ago, when Julie lived in Massachusetts and Veronica lived in New York. For their first date, they arranged to meet in Provincetown during Women’s Week in October, 2006. There was instant chemistry, and Veronica soon found herself flying back and forth to Massachusetts twice a month. “The fact that my family had no clue I was dating a woman made it all the harder,” she says. “Facing [them] and telling them was not an easy thing. My dad wants nothing to do with me. My son accepts me for who I am.” The couple is now engaged and living together with Veronica’s son in Massachusetts, where they look forward to being recognized as a legally married couple. “Julie is an exceptional woman,” raves Veronica, “a teacher and an athlete in the sport of Field Hockey. She holds several national titles. You can Google her.”
