What is love? Rochelle and Jerrad.
“[love is] finding happiness and strength to get through the messes in life and being willing to fight through it with that person..”
Rochelle and Jerrad have been together for eight years and live together in North Carolina with their two children. They met in Colorado, it was the furthest West that Jerrad had ever been and the furthest East that Rochelle had ever been, a fated middle. Rochelle was raised in California and moved to Colorado as a child; Jerrad was raised in Missouri and moved to Colorado for work. There in a country bar called Copperhead Road, Jerrad approached Rochelle. With drink spilled down his shirt and being a little worse for wear he said “You’re the most gorgeous person I have ever seen.” At first, Rochelle wasn’t interested and tried to set him up with her friend. But after spending some time together they quickly became very close. Rochelle said, “After we got together it was hard to imagine life without one another.”
I couldn’t wait to speak to Rochelle and Jerrad about what makes a successful relationship and see what love means to them.
After four years of being together they become engaged. Jerrad said “I took Rochelle to a place called Hanging Lake. We hiked for three hours and it was snowing which is not how I had planned it. I thought that Rochelle had no idea but she told me after that she had guessed.”
When asking them how they knew that they wanted to be spend their lives together, Rochelle said, “I don’t think there was an ‘aha’ moment that made us both think this is the one, but our personalities meshed and we both had the same future goals. Not to mention that we got pregnant with our daughter before we were engaged. It just seemed to be how our lives were going to be and we were happy with that.”
Emmaleen: Can you tell us a loving story from your relationship?
Rochelle: “I’m not sure that we have a typical love story to share to be honest; we are not the most romantic couple, because neither of us are that way. The biggest show of love for us is supporting each other when it is needed. Our lives seem to have been on fast forward since we met, with nursing school, starting new careers, having a child at the age of twenty-four, moving across the country for new opportunities, having a wedding and then another baby. Our love is always helping to lift one another up and support in any way we can, to keep ourselves and our family as happy as possible.”
What is the key to a happy relationship?
Jerrad: “Growing with each other and finding time for each other in our busy lives.”
Rochelle: “It is the willingness to work through the rough patches. To not have expectations of one another, but to feel the need to give 100% on both sides in any way you can. To support each other in self-care and to know that there will be disagreements and that it is okay to have them.”
What is Love?
Rochelle: “Love is knowing what creates a sense of happiness and security for another person. While paying attention to your own personal needs, making sure that their needs are a priority as well. It’s knowing that no one is perfect and there’s never going to be a perfect love story. It’s finding happiness and strength to get through the messes in life and being willing to fight through it with that person.”
Jerrad: “Love is the feeling of happiness, comfort and protection.”
So what is their advice to anyone looking for love?
Jerrad: “Find someone that will push you to be better.”
Rochelle: “I don’t feel that I can have much advice in finding love as I was only twenty-one when I met my husband. But I do think you have to love yourself before you can love anyone else. I think in many cases love can find you when you least expect it.”
If you like this story and want to hear more, subscribe to my mailing list. If you have a love tale that you would like to share, please get in touch.