A pair of childhood sweethearts who dated in high school only to split have married 20 years on after both divorced their partners. Alysa, 42, and Tim Mounce, 41, were once in a relationship as teenagers in 1996. After the young lovebirds split, they went two decades without speaking to one another, but found the spark still burned so strongly that they ended up marrying.
Alysa and Tim, from Kaiser, Oregon, rediscovered their love for one and other after both divorcing their previous partners in 2016. After splitting with his wife, Tim found himself thinking of Alysa and sent her a message on Facebook, with his high school ex delighted to reconnect.
They hit it off straight away and just seven short months after reconnecting -following 20 years apart – Alysa and Tim pledged to spend the rest of their life together at a wedding ceremony, in July 2016.
Real estate broker Alysa said: ‘Tim sent me a message just after Christmas 2015. That was the first time I heard from him in 20 years.
‘We were what you’d call childhood sweethearts in our senior year at high school. We ended up going our separate ways as a lot of people do after college.
‘When Tim messaged we started talking as just friends and the history we had with other made things feel very natural and very organic, like it was meant to be.
‘We picked up where we left off and it was fantastic. He was just like how I remembered him. He’s a very fun person and I realized I wanted that again.
‘We started dating in the February and Tim proposed to me the following May. It all happened very quickly and by July 2016 we were married.’
Alysa split from her second husband in September 2015 following a short marriage which only lasted ten months. She claims her previous husband was controlling and said the relationship was ‘unhealthy’.
Her divorced was finalized by early December 2015, just a couple of weeks before commercial contractor, Tim, decided to reconnect with her on Facebook. He was in the middle of a divorce with his now ex-wife when he started chatting to his former girlfriend, Alysa, once again.
Their initial exchanges were the first words they had spoken to each other in more than 20 years, but that huge length of time apart didn’t stop Alysa and Tim from getting along.
Alysa said: ‘I proceeded with my previous relationship when I probably shouldn’t have. I was desperate for a family life and structure but the relationship was unhealthy.
‘I struggled with the trauma of the break-up and did grieve that it was over. I was angry at what happened and felt lost.
‘Tim had just joined Facebook when he messaged me and he said he had been married for 15 years but was going through a divorce. I actually encouraged him to try to work it out with his wife because I already knew the ramifications of a divorce.
‘Once we got talking and I remembered how fun Tim was, I realized I wanted to have that again.’
Tim invited Alysa to spend Valentine’s weekend with him for a romantic getaway that sparked the couple’s second relationship. After just three months of dating Tim and Alysa became engaged with a date set for their wedding in the following July.
They tied the knot in Tim’s hometown of Newport, Oregon, with the couples four children from previous relationships attending the ceremony.
Alysa said: ‘It felt like I was marrying a friend as well as the person I love. It feels amazing to be loved for who I am and I feel accepted. We are very comfortable around each other.
‘I feel like I am living in a fairy tale and I never thought that would be me.
‘The timing felt so right for us both and I had no worries over how quickly it all happened.
‘The last three years have been wonderful and we do absolutely everything together. I am the happiest I have ever been now and it just feels like it’s meant to be.’
Alysa now uses her experience with relationships as a personal coach, and offers support, advice and help for people online. She runs an Instagram page, called Becoming Alysa, where people in need of support can connect with her.
source https://metro.co.uk/2020/05/21/divorcees-who-dated-high-school-have-got-married-20-years-classroom-breakup-12736392/
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