For Valentine’s Day, we asked followers of the Facebook group ‘I Grew Up In Irvine’ for love stories. These two especially touched our hearts.
In love since their first dance
Keith & Michelle Boothroyd (met in 1987)
Keith and I met our junior year at Woodbridge High. He wanted to go to the Sadie Hawkins dance with me and had a friend encourage me to ask him to the dance. I was extremely shy and never would’ve asked otherwise.
At the dance, Keith had a song dedicated to me: “Take My Breath Away,” by Berlin. We had our first kiss during that song and were inseparable after that.
Keith proposed while he was at UCI and I was at Orange Coast College. He asked my parents first. They were a bit freaked out since we were so young but gave their blessing — with the agreement that I wouldn’t get pregnant until after college.
We married July 19, 1990, at the chapel on the hill at Concordia University. Our first dance was to the song “Take My Breath Away.”
Keith got his MBA, and I got my teaching credential. Eight years later, we started a family. Our children Jordyn and Josh attended Woodbridge High and had some of the same teachers we had.
One thing we’ve learned is that your spouse does not complete you. You have to be happy with who you are, and do what makes you happy — and your spouse celebrates and supports you.
When the kids left the nest, we spent our weekends chasing sunsets. It made us realize that we wanted to see sunsets every day. So we moved to Portola Springs into a house with a sunset view.
This year was our 30th anniversary, and my sister gave us a wonderful gift: framed pictures of us in high school and us now — and a record of the song “Take My Breath Away.” –Michelle Boothroyd
First kiss at Woodbridge Lake
Rick & Sonya Gividen (met in 1980)
I first saw Rick playing volleyball in high school. I told my friend he was cute but I thought he’d never date me. A few days later, he broke up with his girlfriend, walked over and kissed me! I was shocked and excited, and I couldn’t stop thinking about him.
Our first kiss was on the island at Woodbridge Lake, so in 1981 we were married at the Woodbridge Pagoda, in front of 80 friends and family.
In 2013, I was diagnosed with breast cancer, and he loved me back to life. We have renewed our vows several times and celebrated our milestones because I feel we have been blessed. Forty years later, and he still calls me his girlfriend. – Sonya Gividen
