When Hannah first met Donovan while picking up her 13-year-old brother from basketball practice it was love at first sight.
Hannah was 16 years old and Donovan was hobbling along on crutches having just sprained his ankle in football practice when she asked him for directions to find the gym her brother was in.
““It was a cool, Fall evening in Arizona the night I met my husband. I was 16 years old and having recently gotten my driver’s license, it made me the perfect chauffer for my 13-year-old brother who was too cool to get rides from mom and dad. I drove to the high school my brother’s club basketball practice was being held at to pick him up. His practice was running late so I navigated the unfamiliar campus looking for the gymnasium to wait for him in there. I was headed toward a random entrance when a football player named Donovan walked out on crutches, holding a bag of ice. I immediately noticed his black, curly hair and his charming smile as he attempted to smile at me through his obvious pain. ‘You okay there?,’ I asked, noticing his limp. He told me he had just sprained his ankle during football practice and asked me what I was doing there, knowing I wasn’t a student there. I told him I was looking for the gym to pick up my brother and he quickly connected the dots, observing my red hair, and said, ‘Oh, your brother’s the red headed kid who’s always here?’ After exchanging a few words and sharing a few flirtatious, coy smiles, he showed me how to find the gym. I thanked him and told him, ‘I’m so glad I ran into you,’ and it wasn’t just because of his directions,” Hannah told Love What Matters.
The two, from Arizona, met up in Starbucks a few weeks later and spent most of the evening talking.
”About an hour after his white chocolate peppermint mocha and my caramel vanilla bean frappuccino were gone, the barista who was sweeping the floor around us told us, ‘You guys must really like each other if you’ve been here this long talking and haven’t ordered a second drink.’ He was onto something,” Hannah said.
A month later a scavenger hunt led Hannah to the town’s enormous Christmas tree, where Donovan was waiting to ask me to the winter formal, their first official date.
The two became close basing their relationship first on friendship but they would face the ultimate test when they left high school and went to two different colleges.
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Like most relationships which face distance it ended but a non-refundable flight to Montana where Donovan was put them in each other’s path again and they were reminded of why they had fallen in love in the first place.
“It was like déjà vu when I got off the plane in Montana and saw him with his curly, black hair and charming smile once again, waiting for me outside the gate on crutches,” Hannah said of Donovan who was recovering from knee surgery.
At 19 years old they realized there was nobody else they wanted to be with and decided to get married.
”We were only 19 years old and despite so many people telling me, ‘You’re going to regret this,’ I was so sure. Even now, four years later, I’ve never been more sure about anything. Today we thank ourselves for following our hearts and nobody else’s opinion. Getting married at 19 was not trendy, but it’s our unique love story,” Hannah said.
Their idea was met with a lot of skepticism from family and friends who thought they were too young and warned they they would regret it.
“Even now, four years later, I’ve never been more sure about anything. Today we thank ourselves for following our hearts and nobody else’s opinion,” Hannah said.
“Getting married at 19 was not trendy, but it’s our unique love story. We’re not just growing old together; we’re growing up together.”
I love this couple’s story which proves that you can fall in love at any age and it can last. Even at their young age they are an inspiration to couples all over.
Please share their beautiful story with others.