Whether celebrating their 20th or 50th Valentine’s Day, these local couples still love to tell the story of their love.
They also share something else in common: All eight husbands and wives grew up in the Huntington Beach-Fountain Valley area and still call it home. It really is a nice place to live—and a hard place to leave.
ANDREW AND JESSICA CARR
Andrew Carr waited until his senior year to join the Fountain Valley High marching band—a fortuitous “last minute” decision. That’s where he met his bride-to-be, Jessica Garcia Carr.
After graduating in 1997, Andrew went to Cal State Long Beach while Jessica moved an hour away to attend Claremont McKenna College. Andrew visited her so often that fellow Claremont students thought he went to school there.
They married in May of 2003, a week after Jessica’s college graduation.
The newlyweds settled back in Fountain Valley, juggling careers with higher education, as both worked to earn master’s degrees at Cal State Fullerton.
After several years of travel — and a brief stint owning Gallagher’s Pub in Huntington Beach — they turned their focus to family. Son Andrew Jr., known as A.J., arrived in 2011, followed by daughter Emma in 2013.
Andrew served as a Boy Scouts Cubmaster. Jessica volunteered on the Plavan Elementary PTO, running the Art Masters program and chairing the Outdoor Science Camp committee.
Both Carr kids, students at Fulton Middle School, have developed passions of their own. A.J. is an accomplished track athlete, and Emma is a budding musician and actor.
Andrew and Jessica look forward to seeing life come full circle this fall, when A.J. becomes a freshman at FVHS, the same school where his parents met nearly 30 years ago.
FLYNN AND JENNIFER WATTON
Although they shared a social circle at Fountain Valley High, Flynn and Jennifer Watton didn’t truly connect until 11th grade, when they worked together at Coco’s Bakery. By senior year, in 1992, they were going steady.
They married in 2000 and purchased a Fountain Valley townhouse that same year. Intended as a starter home, it remains their happy abode.
Jennifer earned a degree in business administration from Cal State Fullerton and works as a quality and compliance manager for Cevians, an aerospace manufacturing company.
Flynn is a jeweler at The Jeweler’s Touch in Brea, where February is his busiest month.
Together, they share a love of travel, especially to tropical beaches.
AIDEN & KATHLEEN NAUGHTON
Most first dates happen before the senior prom — not at it. But Mater Dei High School classmates Aiden and Kathleen Naughton did things a little out of order.
Decades later, their children would attend Mater Dei as well, making the entire family proud alumni.
Now living in Huntington Beach, both Aiden and Kathleen grew up in Fountain Valley and graduated from Cal State Long Beach. After dating for six years, they married in their hometown at Holy Spirit Catholic Church.
Aiden is retired after serving as an officer with the Fountain Valley Police Department. Kathleen teaches fifth grade at Courreges Elementary School. They have two children, Brianna, 33, and Colin, 28.
The family has traveled the world together, and as avid Formula One fans, they attend races throughout Europe.
And it all started with the senior prom.
RAY AND TINA HERNANDEZ
Ray and Tina Hernandez slept together the first night they met, back in 1972. Clarification: They literally slept together, on a couch, fully clothed.
A 1968 graduate of Huntington Beach High, Ray had recently returned from his tour of duty in Vietnam. Tina’s older sister, who knew Ray through friends, acted as matchmaker—purposefully inviting Tina to the party that launched their relationship.
At the time, Tina was studying at Orange Coast College to become a dental assistant.
Ray and Tina married four years later. They moved into their Huntington Beach house while Tina was on maternity leave after giving birth to their second child—allowing a few weeks to bond with neighbors.
Life was good even though money was tight. No dinners out, no movies. Clothes came from the local Goodwill.
Eventually, better-paying jobs followed. Ray worked at Saddleback High School in Santa Ana, and Tina joined Hughes Aircraft.
Fifty-three years after that infamous night on the couch, Ray and Tina remain fiercely in love. Every day, they remind each other that even the hard times were wonderful — because they had each other.