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!
Tania & Angela
Phoenix, Arizona
Tania Katan, 36, Writer/Performer
Angela Ellsworth, 42, Artist/Professor
It was the summer of 1995, and it was a scorcher. “I was a barista-slash-playwright, just killing time until someone discovered me,” says Tania. “That’s when she walked in. She was an artist with no slash. She looked like a 1920s movie star. Like Clara Bow, she was the it-girl.” In fact, it-girl Angela recognized Tania as the writer of Stages, a play about surviving breast cancer. “I loved your play,” she said. “I saw it twice. I’m a cancer survivor, too.” Thus began their romantic and artistic partnerships. “We have created a space in our relationship that allows us to exchange creative ideas, brainstorm performance projects, book proposals and installations,” they say. “Our relationship embodies the word ‘go,’ the idea of traveling from one point to another while taking time to explore the space in between. Together, we are a creative force making work about gender, illness and wellness. We are breaking rules and making new ones, and we are still going!”
