Guy & Johanna

After spending a year settling into my new home in Del Mar, California, I was finally finding my way back to myself. Learning to love myself again. Embracing a new chapter. And after 14 years on my own, beginning to think that maybe—just maybe—I was ready to dip my toe back into the dating world.

And then came The Golden Bachelorette.

There he was. The moment Guy stepped out of that limousine, I thought, Now there's an East Coast guy! Handsome. Charming. And he certainly knew how to wear a suit. Just my type. Little did I know, my instincts were right: Guy was born in Philadelphia, raised in Arlington, Texas, and spent his adult life in Reno, Nevada. Apparently, you can take the boy out of the East Coast, but you can't take the East Coast out of the boy.

As the season unfolded, I wondered: was he a total player, or genuinely one of the nicest guys in the world? My gut kept telling me it was the latter.

I couldn't shake one thought: If I met this man organically—at a restaurant, in an airport, or at a party—I just KNOW we would hit it off.

The show ended, but that feeling didn't. It wasn't a crush. It was something deeper, something I couldn't quite explain. I just had this overwhelming feeling that if I met Guy organically—at a restaurant, in an airport, or at a party—we would instantly hit it off. I didn't know why I felt so certain about a man I'd never met. I just knew.

On the afternoon of January 1, 2025, I asked my 31-year-old daughter if she'd watched The Golden Bachelorette. “No. Why?” she asked. A little embarrassed, I admitted there was a man on the show who had really caught my attention.

She immediately motioned for me to hand over my phone. She quickly swiped through Guy's Instagram, looked up at me, and said, “Ohhh... I get it. I can see it!”

I admitted, “I kind of want to message him.” She looked at me and said, “MOM! SHOOT YOUR SHOT!”

And a few minutes later, I did exactly that. On January 1, 2025, at exactly 4:44 p.m., I slid into Guy's Instagram DMs. I had never done anything like that before. I didn't know if he was single or whether he'd respond. But something inside me kept saying, Just do it. So I listened. And that's where it all began.

Eight days. Endless conversations.

Guy responded the next day. Messages became phone calls. Phone calls became FaceTimes. Suddenly, we were talking nonstop. And I mean EVERYTHING.

Our children. Our families. Religion. Careers. Finances. Divorces. Health. Our pasts, our mistakes, our hopes, and what we wanted out of the rest of our lives. The good, the bad, and everything in between. Nothing was off-limits.

Guy was even taking notes! At one point I couldn't resist asking whether he was writing on a yellow legal pad or in one of those black-and-white marbled notebooks. LOL.

During one of our more in-depth conversations, Guy asked about my health and finances, then joked, “You know, I don't want to be a nurse or a purse.”

Without missing a beat, I replied, “Oh, honey, don't worry. I don't want to be a nurse or a purse either!”

And that was us. Everything one of us did, felt, or said seemed to be exactly what the other would do, feel, or say. The same values, the same sense of humor, the same outlook on life. It was almost comical how alike we were. We even have the same birthday!

We weren't playing games or trying to impress each other. We were just being ourselves—and somehow, it felt as though we'd found someone who spoke exactly the same language.

From the very beginning, we had one word for it: Simpatico.

Our first date.

We would have met within two days, but I had a business trip. So we waited eight. On January 10, 2025, Guy flew to Del Mar, and we went to Eddie V's in La Jolla.

We sat side by side in a booth—as though we'd been doing it for years. Our waiter, Max, asked how many years we were celebrating. Neither of us had the nerve to admit this was our FIRST DATE!

When we finally confessed, Max told us he loved our energy and predicted we'd be back every year for our anniversary.

Halfway through our three-and-a-half-hour dinner, Guy looked at me and said:

“Sometimes, you just know when you know.”

Then he told me he thought he was falling in love with me. I told him I felt the same. The funny thing is, we both already knew. It was a done deal.

Simpatico.

That's what we've called it from the beginning. We share so much that sometimes it's almost comical. We love the same adventures, understand each other without long explanations, and genuinely love being together.

In our first 19 months, we spent only about 30 days apart. Not because we have to be together, but because we want to be. When we're apart, we both say it feels like a limb is missing.

We've made a beautiful life between Del Mar and Reno, and every day feels better side by side.

From Instagram to the Empire State Building.

Ten months after that first message, on October 27, 2025, Guy asked me to marry him at the top of the Empire State Building in New York City.

Of all the places our story could have taken us, there we were—high above Manhattan, at one of the most romantic landmarks in the city. From a message sent at 4:44 p.m. in Del Mar to a proposal at the top of the Empire State Building. For this East Coast girl, it couldn't have been more perfect.

We celebrated in New York, including time at The Roxy Hotel and a night seeing Moulin Rouge! on Broadway. A city full of unforgettable moments had just given us one more.

When Guy later shared our engagement, People even told a little piece of our story. But the part I love most will always be the one only we know: how naturally it all felt, from the very beginning. Read our engagement story in People ↗

I wasn't looking for someone to complete my life. I'd worked hard to rediscover myself. Then I found someone who made that life more beautiful than I could have imagined.

All because I listened to my gut, took a chance, and sent one message.

Two people. One birthday. One beautiful life.

And Max? I think he knew something, too. Here's to a lifetime of anniversaries.

With love, Johanna and Guy

We both love Sleepless in Seattle. In fact, we'd watched it together just a few weeks before our trip to New York City.

When we were making plans, Guy said he wanted to go to the Empire State Building. Being a New Yorker, I told him, “Locals don't go there!”

His answer? “Well, I'm not a local, and I'd like to go!”

Fair enough. So I got us VIP tickets. If we were going to do the Empire State Building, we were going to do it right. And right we did.

It was one of those spectacular bluebird days. Not a cloud in the sky. You could see forever. We walked around the terrace, taking it all in, and unbeknownst to me, Guy had something a little more important than sightseeing on his mind.

In true rom-com fashion, he found the exact spot where Meg Ryan meets Tom Hanks on Valentine's Day at the end of Sleepless in Seattle. There was the Chrysler Building in the background, just like in the movie.

And then he said, “It's a perfect day.”

“Perfect day. Perfect love. Perfect moment to ask you to marry me.”

At exactly 4:44 PM, at the top of the Empire State Building, Guy asked me to marry him. And of course, I said YES!

We celebrated with champagne at The Roxy Bar, followed by dinner at Il Mulino. I couldn't have imagined a more perfect day.

Sometimes life really does feel like a movie. And this time, it was ours.