Grand prize winners
Lori and Andy Guyler’s first date ended with Lori handcuffed in the back of a highway patrol cruiser.
Flash forward 14 years — Lori and Andy have been married for nine years and have three children: Morgan, 7, Colin, 4 and Braden, 17 months. But it seemed a little unlikely at the time that happily ever after would result from their first date in 1996.
The two had met at a prom as dates of mutual friends - she was a Middletown High School student, he was a Fenwick High School student. Both were 17 at the time. After the dance, they went to a friend’s house and realized they couldn’t find their respective dates, so they ended up talking to each other — and hitting it off, Andy said.
The next weekend the two went to a party. Being “young and stupid,” as Lori put it, Andy and his friends made Lori the designated driver. One friend hitched a ride home with them — and that’s when things began to go awry.
On the way home, the friend, who had too much to drink, mentioned he was going to be sick and asked Lori to pull over. Before she had a chance, Andy said, the friend vomited in the back seat. Lori pulled over to the side of the road near what was then Americana Amusement Park in Monroe.
Then trouble really started when Lori tried to pull back on to Ohio 4 — but went north into the southbound lane.
“She was trying to get back on the divided highway near Americana and turned left too early. The next car heading towards us was an Ohio highway patrol car,” Andy said.
The officer gave Lori a field sobriety test, but she was so nervous and scared, “I failed miserably,” according Lori, who said she hadn’t been drinking. The next thing she knew, Lori was handcuffed in the back of a cruiser, utterly mortified.
“I actually asked them (the officers) if I could stay in jail that night, I was so afraid,” she said.
Eventually, parents were called, explanations were made, and Lori passed a breathalyzer test. The next day, Lori’s family was having a graduation party for her sister — and Andy showed up.
Lori’s mother, Linda Hardin, said her “heart just sank” when the Ohio State Highway Patrol called. Then she and her husband were floored when Andy appeared at their house the next day. She said they remembered thinking, “That boy must really like her if he showed up.”
“We were young and in love. I went over and I guess I must have made an impression,” Andy said.
Even the traffic problem ended without trouble. Lori was cited for improper lane usage, but the judge in juvenile traffic court threw out the charge, calling Lori the responsible one.
That said, Lori insisted she and her husband don’t condone underage drinking. “We know the choices we made that night were not the best choices,” she said of attending a party where there was alcohol.
These days, Lori, 31 is a stay-at-home mom, while Andy, 30, is a product manager for Dealer Specialties & Get Auto Media Solutions. The couple doesn’t get a chance to go out alone much, and are excited their disastrous first date is paying off some dividends.
Lori is glad she and Andy stuck it out after that first date.
“He’s my best friend to this very day,” Lori said. “We’ve grown up together.”
Honorable mentions
NAME: Kimberly Clark Stephens
CITY: Hamilton
FIRST DATE: It was March 28, 1995 and the Junior Prom theme was “Under the Stars.” My date was Tim Stephens. I should have been suspicious when he called to say he was running late and could I pick up my corsage? I picked it up and paid for it. We went to dinner at Red Lobster. After dinner, he whispered that he “forgot” his wallet. I paid for dinner too. I was very upset about having to pay for the corsage and for dinner. I called him after the dance and told him it was over. Five years later my mom called to tell me that someone was at her house asking about me. It was Tim! I had run into his best friend about a week prior and discussed possibly going out with a group. I asked my mom to give him my address and he came over the same day. I guess you could say he came over and hasn’t left! We were married June 23, 2001 and have two wonderful children. We always joke about our prom dinner being the meal he is paying for the rest of his life. Tip included.
NAME: Misty Campbell
CITY: Seven Mile
FIRST DATE: My first date with my now husband was our first Valentines date two years ago. He took me to dinner and a movie. As we ordered our food the waitress brought out the drinks, which happened to land in my lap as she laid it on the table. It took over 50 minutes to get our dinner, which was not done once we got it. So when we finish there to go to see a movie, I’m about dry at that point. We get our tickets and get to the register to order popcorn and the popcorn machine caught on fire and room filled full of smoke. They got the small fire out and we were given the option that we could stay in the smoke field building and watch our movie, or get a refund, which we did because the building smelled horrible. So needless to say, dinner went bad and movie was worse. Best thing that came out of the horrible date is that we are now married.
NAME: Julia Frazier
CITY: Liberty Twp.
FIRST DATE: My husband of almost 10 years, Sean, and I first met at swing dance lessons. These lessons were mainly designed for young adult singles. Sean missed a class the week before, so prior to the next class my friends and I tried to teach him the dance steps of the last week. We had learned this advanced move where the girl flipped backwards over the back of the guy and the girl lands softly on her feet. With professional instruction this was a fun dance move, but somewhere in my summary, a few pointers may have been missed. On our first practice, I rolled over Sean’s back, but instead of a nice landing, he dropped me and I landed head first onto the concrete floor. With a noticeable size bump on my head, I went home to put ice on it. After many apologies and a bouquet of flowers, we continued to see each other and two years later we happily got married.
NAME: Mary Beth Stewart
CITY: West Chester Twp.
FIRST DATE: We were young and each living on our own in an apartment complex in a very small town in Southwest Ohio. Our mutual friend, Gary, introduced us and the three of us palled around like the Three Musketeers all summer in 1984. I had my eye on Andy, my husband today, and hoped he would ask me to do something, just the two of us. Finally, he invited me to the Ohio State Fair. We spent the day like little kids looking at funny farm animals, playing silly arcade games and eating lots of fair food. Off to the rides we jumped on The Gravitron, spinning and spinning until the floor dropped out, then on to the Double Ferris wheel smoothly gliding through the air. When all the way at the top with nowhere to go I looked at Andy with that “I think I’m going to be sick” look and then proceeded to throw up all over him! He was quite the gentleman and quietly ripped off his undershirt for me to use as a “towel.” Quite a feat when you are half a mile up in the sky! Hugging me as we got off the ride he acted like nothing at all unusual had just happened. Turning to me with a smile and a twinkle in his eye he said he’d “just had the ride of a lifetime.” I knew then he was a keeper! Twenty-four years and three children later I still sit on the sidelines at the amusement park — for which my husband is undoubtedly thankful!
NAME: Kenni Blache
CITY: West Chester Twp.
FIRST DATE: My husband and I went on our first date in 1978, and he still says the date that I called disastrous was fun for him. Ernie joined Armco Steel fresh from college in 1977 and was transferred to my hometown in Charleston, W.V. I was still in college and very excited to meet someone that was new to the area and had already entered the “real world.” When he picked me up, he said that he wanted to take me somewhere fun. The prospects seemed endless when he drove me to the Charleston Airport! He parked his car in long-term parking — I found out later he chose that spot because it was cheaper than short term. He immediately headed toward the waiting area where the video games were and said that we were there to play Pac Man! After two games, he ran out of quarters and asks me to pitch in. When I mentioned that I was getting a little hungry, he suggested that I look at the vending machines. In May we will celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary and he will celebrate 33 years with AK Steel.
NAME: Robb Reichle
CITY: Middletown
FIRST DATE: It was summer camp some years ago and at the end of each week they had a “weenie roast.” My best friend’s cousin thought I was cute so she asked me to the roast, which I said yes. A day or so later another, more popular girl (I was 14) asked me to go and I told her yes as well. I didn’t have the nerve to tell my best friend’s cousin what I did, so I asked someone else to tell her. It blew up in my face because the “popular” girl dumped me shortly after the weenie roast. A few years later I started dating my best friend’s cousin and this year will mark our 10 year wedding anniversary. I don’t know what I would do without her and to this day I still get teased about the “camp incident.”
NAME: James Doyle
CITY: Trenton
FIRST DATE: Well back on Valentines in 1991 I met my wife to be Carmel, and after flirting with her for over two weeks I finally had the nerve to ask her out. Let’s just say it was a disaster from the get go when I went to her home to pick her up in Middletown and her parents made us take her two little sisters with us — they where about 9 and 10. So our very special date I had planed never happened. Instead we ended up bowling on Main Street and ate at Rally’s drive thru for dinner. The two sisters had a blast.
But in the end I still won out and we have been married since 1992. We did not get to spend any alone time or really talk at all during our first date but I am so glad she chose to go out with me again — without the two little girls.
NAME: Jesse Holthus
CITY: Oxford
FIRST DATE: It was Valentine’s Day of 2007 when my girlfriend and I went on our first date. I had a nice outing planned to go sledding and out for hot chocolate afterwards to warm up. Unfortunately, we never made it to the hot chocolate.
We were having a great time getting to know one another when, out of nowhere, she looked up at me and said “I’m going to pass out.” And she did. Right there on the snow. Our lovely date suddenly took a turn towards being an emergency. She was out for probably five seconds before coming to. She said she was feeling better so we began to make our way to the car. On our way back she passed out again. She was mortified, I was quite scared and worried. I got her home and she spent the rest of the afternoon in the hospital— apparently suffering from a near fatal episode of hypothermia because of only recently discovered health issues. She thought for sure that I would never take her out again, but I’m sure glad I did. Three years later and we haven’t looked back- except to laugh at this story.