America’s Favorite Couple: How Our Lost & Found Love Story Landed Us in the Quarter-Finals
From a Disconnected Phone Line in 1989 to a Chance at $20K, Variety Magazine, and Sharing Hope with second chances
Our Love Story: Lost & Found, 32 Years in the Making
We’re Bryan and Jennie — and our love story could easily be the plot of your favorite 80s romantic comedy.
We met in 1985 in Alaska, set up by our best friends while attending rival high schools — Chugiak for Bryan, Wasilla for me. We shared instant chemistry, slow dances, handwritten letters, and the magic of young love… but didn’t realize our love until years later.
The day that everything changed- December 1989, we planned to meet for lunch in Salt Lake City. Bryan called to tell me where to meet… but my college roommate hadn’t paid the phone bill. The landline was disconnected that day!
There was no texting. No social media. No way to reconnect. We both assumed the other had moved on. And just like that, our story ended — or so we thought.
For 32 years, we lived separate lives — marriages, careers, raising families. But fate didn’t forget, (and those same best friends, now married) brought us back together. Bryan showed up in Sedona, Arizona — my sacred healing place — We talked. Forgave. We laughed. And we picked up where we left off, older, wiser, and with a blended family of nine kids.
The Competition I Didn’t Want to Enter (At First)
Weeks before we joined America’s Favorite Couple, my friend Janette sent me the link to enter. My first reaction? ‘I will think’ about it- Nah’. I’m not a gambling person, and entering a national contest with thousands of couples felt… uncomfortable. Vulnerable. But then I noticed something in the prize list: a feature in Variety Magazine.
My heart skipped a beat.
I’ve loved magazines my whole life. In high school, it was Teen Bop, Seventeen, and all the teen mags of the 80s. These days? Vogue is my forever favorite. The thought of having our love story featured in a glossy spread — one that producers, directors, and creatives read all over the world — felt like the perfect way to market our story, invite more people into our SecondChanceOnLove.com community, and create a safe space for others to share their own second-chance love stories.
If I could step into my own discomfort, maybe it would inspire others to do the same. And that’s when I said… Okay, we’re in.
What America’s Favorite Couple Is All About
The competition, by Colossal Management, LLC, is a nationwide search for the ultimate love story — couples with an undeniable spark, deep connection, and a story that inspires. Jeff Goldblum and his wife, Emilie serve as hosts!
The grand prize includes:
- $20,000 in cash
- A fairytale photoshoot
- A feature in Variety Magazine — read by entertainment power players in 84 countries
Voters can cast one free vote per day and purchase additional votes (with proceeds benefiting the LA Foodbank and Oceana).
With over 2,000 couples competing, every single vote counts.
The Nail-Biting Road to the Quarter-Finals
Getting here wasn’t easy. In the last round, we went back and forth between first and second place for an entire day.
To advance, we had to stay in first. We refreshed the voting page like it was the stock market. Friends and family set alarms on their phones to cast their free daily vote. Even those who were on vacation just to keep us on top!
In the end, our community rallied — and we made it through. It was exhausting, thrilling, and a little surreal.
Promoting the Competition: Taking Our Story to the Airwaves (and the Morning Show!)
Since entering, we’ve been all-in on sharing our story. Going even further outside of my comfort zone… we’ve been featured in our local newspaper, interviewed on our local radio station, and are booked as guests on upcoming podcasts. But the ultimate moment so far? Being interviewed by Brooke Walker from NBC affiliate station KSL in Salt Lake City on the morning show Studio 5! And here’s the goosebump-worthy part — we were interviewed at the Triad Center, just two blocks away from where we were supposed to meet for lunch back in 1989. Full circle doesn’t even begin to describe it.
Why We Want to Win
Winning isn’t just about the money — though the $20,000 would help us publish and promote our upcoming novel (co-written with bestselling author Tricia Goyer) and fund our future screenplay!
It’s about the platform. The chance to put our Lost & Found Love Story in front of a global audience through Variety Magazine. The opportunity to inspire others to believe in second chances — in love, in life, in themselves.
Our website, SecondChanceOnLove.com, is growing into a home for:
- Real-life second-chance love stories
- Tips for reconnecting with “the one that got away”
- Resources for healing from heartbreak
- Inspiration for starting over
We’re building a community where vulnerability is welcome, hope is shared, and friendship is found.
From 80’sTeen Magazines to Variety Dreams
It still blows my mind — the girl who grew up devouring teen magazines in the 80s now has a chance to be in Variety Magazine. Our love story has survived decades, distance, and one very ill-timed unpaid phone bill. We’ve blended our families, faced challenges, and built something real. We’re not perfect. We’re us. And that’s exactly why we think our story deserves the title of America’s Favorite Couple.
How You Can Help Us Win
If our story has made you smile, cry, or believe in the magic of second chances… here’s how you can help:
- Vote for us daily here — one free vote every 24 hours.
- Share our story with your friends, family, and followers.
- Visit SecondChanceOnLove.com to learn more, join our community, and find hope in real-life stories of love rediscovered.
You can also follow the link on the banner of our home page. Vote. Share. Play it forward. Because love like ours isn’t just for fairy tales. It’s for all of us.
