Three Henderson couples share secrets to lasting love
No couple dare take on Robyn and Jim Carr at the newlywed game, where couples compete against each other to see who can guess the most correct answers about their spouse.
"They don't stand a chance," Robyn said.
The longevity of their relationship has produced this uncanny psychic connection where they know what foods they are craving or can simultaneously answer the most obscure questions.
"The question was: If your mother-in-law was an animal, what would she be?" Robyn said. "We both answered, 'A flying monkey.' "
Even though that creature was the topic of discussion years ago when visiting Robyn's mother, it was something they didn't forget, to their surprise.
"We were passing by the airport of my hometown," Robyn said. "I said, 'I wonder if this will be the one time my mother is going to be here.' He responded, 'She won't, but her flying monkeys will be.' It got a laugh."
A connection like this takes years to cultivate.
Their relationship was love at first sight - at least for Robyn.
"We met at his graduation party in high school," Robyn said. "I was two years younger. I put the bug in his friends' ears that I was interested."
Jim kept didn't respond to encouragement by friends that he should ask her out. But finally, he called.
Robyn enjoyed his trustworthiness and strength of character.
"He is such a great guy. If I dropped dead, there would be a line around the door of women waiting for him to notice," she said, prompting a slight smile from Jim.
Jim was attracted to her quick wit and dry sense of humor.
"There weren't any other girls like her," he said.
While the Vietnam War was raging, they went to college. The draft came up and they waited anxiously to hear if Jim would be called.
"You're looking at number 67," Robyn said, gesturing to Jim.
Weighing options, he decided to propose to Robyn by taking her out to the St. Croix River in Minnesota.
The romantic gesture was interrupted by mosquitoes swarming Robyn.
"They were the size of B-52s," she said.
Jim picked up a pillow case, which had a ring inside it, and gave it to Robyn as they gathered their items.
"I found the ring and said, 'OK. We're done here,' " she said.
The two had a simple church wedding with coffee and cake. Within a month of their wedding Jim, who enlisted in the U.S. Air Force, was gone on leave.
"We were apart about 30 percent of the time for the next six years," she said.
While living on bases, Robyn took up writing.
"I had been reading a lot of books and wanted to try my hand at writing," she said.
More than 30 years later, she is a New York Times best-selling author of the Virgin River series. The genre is women's issues, which includes romance.
Conversations between the couple have appeared in her works.
"And I don't get credit," Jim said. "It wouldn't be a Robyn Carr speech unless I was getting thrown under the bus, which has happened many times."
Jim once tried to bribe Robyn to convince his friends that he is the inspiration for the romance parts of the books.
"I believe you said you'd give me any amount of money," Robyn recalled.
She didn't go through with it.
Through good times and bad times, the couple have adapted and survived.
"There was a time it got really bad and we lost the house," she said. "It was a really bad recession in '82."
But they adapted and got through it.
Despite similarities such as both being Type-A personalities, they have their differences.
"We have canceled each other out at the (election) polls for 40 years," Robyn said.
One year they both decided not to vote.
"Then I went to the polling station and brought home an 'I Voted' sticker," Jim said.
After showing Robyn, she pulled out one, too.
"So we can't be trusted," she said.
For the past few Valentine's Days, Jim has made a heart-shaped meatloaf to commemorate the evening.
"Last year I was watching television and realized, 'Tomorrow is our anniversary,' " Robyn said. "He turned to me and said, 'We don't have to do anything, right?' "
The couple went out and bought a new bed and a washer and dryer.
"It was very romantic," she added, jokingly.
The most romantic thing Robyn said the couple do together is to laugh.
"You have to have a sense of humor," Jim said. "When life hands you lemons, make lemonade."
It is because of this attitude, they know the next 10 years they will still be going strong.
"Happy Valentine's Day," Jim said to Robyn as he gave her a kiss. "I'll make you a meatloaf."
ANGELA AND MATT
Despite all the showgirls dancing in "X Burlesque," it was former showgirl Angela Sampras, the show's producer, who captured Matt Stabile's eye. He couldn't shake it.
"She was stunning," Matt said.
As a producer, Matt was contracted to make a commercial for Angela's new show, which was opening at the Aladdin in 2002. The interaction between the two was inevitable - but so was their chemistry.
"The sparks were there," Angela said. "It was meant to be."
The relationship started casually, with drinks and dinner while discussing business, which later transformed to social outings.
On one of their first dates, Angela invited Matt over for dinner.
"They problem is, I can't really cook," she said.
Instead, she went to her favorite Italian restaurant and bought sauces and pasta. She loaded them up in pots and pans before serving.
"I created the illusion," she said.
However, she didn't know Matt had the same favorite Italian restaurant.
"I thought it tasted familiar," he recalled.
The truth came out a few months later and serves as one of their many stories.
Matt and Angela moved in together in 2005 and were married in 2006.
"Nothing really changed after marriage," Angela said. "We were already pretty much married. It was just official now."
Matt took her to a restaurant at Lake Tahoe to propose.
"He knows I love martinis," Angela said.
The ring was on one of the olives in a martini.
"I was nervous because all the servers were staring at me," he said.
Angela said yes.
"And the rest is history," she added.
The secret to their marriage, Angela said, is that they do everything together.
"We go to the work together, go to the gym together and have a personal trainer," Matt said. "We are rarely apart."
They are currently working together on a new show at The D Las Vegas called "Raack N Roll."
Even when they have small disagreements on where certain props should go or how the showgirls should enter, they can talk to each other on a professional level to work out differences.
"But I'm always right," Angela said with a smirk.
Angela said she always acknowledges how thankful she is for their relationship.
"We thank God every day for each other and all our successes," she said.
In the 10 years of their relationship, the only thing they wish is that they would have met sooner.
"I tell her parents if we would have met in high school, we would probably still be together," Matt said.
JOYCE AND EARLE
Joyce and Earle Wagner have been at the wedding altar four times with each other in their nearly 40 years of marriage.
The first was in Texas at the Las Vegas Trail Church of Christ.
"It was funny we ended up in Las Vegas," she said.
Next was a Church of Christ in Las Vegas to renew their 20th wedding anniversary, followed by their third at the Silverton, which was having an anniversary vow renewal with Elvis hosting the ceremony.
They also did a drive-thru wedding at the Little White Wedding Chapel.
"Then we were in Las Vegas, New Mexico, and I thought we should do it again," she said. "He said four was enough but maybe on our 50th."
Earle was an answer to a prayer Joyce gave God many years ago after her first husband left her.
It was the end of the Vietnam War and despite having her husband come home physically in one piece, Joyce said he wasn't there mentally.
"He just couldn't adapt," she said.
He left Joyce to care for two children.
"I was scared," she said. "I told God if he wanted me to raise them alone to give me the strength to do that."
She lived near a military base in Fort Worth, Texas.
Stopping by the gas station to fill up her tank, Joyce would always get help from every man, except Earle.
"It was self-service," Earle said.
Earle had been in a bad relationship as well, making him a little shy toward women, particularly Joyce.
But something was different about her that he couldn't overcome. So Earle tried to find excuses to call Joyce.
They talked for several months before finally deciding to go out on their first date on Valentine's Day.
He showed up at her door with a single red rose.
At dinner, Joyce brought up religion.
"I knew I wanted to be with a Christian man," she said. "It was important to me."
Earle had been baptized in the same church Joyce attended, but he hadn't been back since he was a child.
"But the next morning he showed up at my door at 9 a.m. for church," she said. "And he has been going with me ever since."
It didn't take long for Earle and Joyce to start talking about marriage. Her children loved Earle, and everything felt right.
After they married, Earle adopted her children.
"So he has always been Daddy," she said.
Since being married, they have grown closer. They moved to Las Vegas because of job opportunities.
Despite being hesitant at first to approach Joyce, Earle is no longer shy about his affection for her.
"He loves to hold my hand in public," she said. "It's really important to me and him."
Even when they are walking at the Henderson Multigenerational Center, they will be holding hands each step they take.
"People come up to us and comment on that," she said.
Throughout the years, Joyce said he has made strides to continue being romantic.
"Twice, he has gotten a string quartet to serenade me," she said. "They play a few songs, and they come with a single red rose."
Contact Henderson/Anthem View reporter Michael Lyle at mlyle@viewnews.com or 702-387-5201.
