When it comes to being in love, university alumnus Ryan Fahy and fiancee Melissa Cook’s relationship may just be America’s favorite.
Fahy and Cook, who fell in love while writing back and forth as e-mail penpals when Fahy was stationed in Iraq, are one of the final two couples in the running for Race to the Altar, a competition held by NBC’s TODAY Show Five couples compete against one another to win a dream wedding, and with only two couples left, the wedding of their dreams may be in Fahy and Cook’s grasp. But for the two, win or lose doesn’t matter; their love is of a unique type – literally.
A LONG-DISTANCE ROMANCE
While most couples meet face-to-face, Fahy and Cook started out as e-mail penpals.
After graduating with degrees in criminology and criminal justice and psychology, Fahy felt compelled to join the Army.
“I was always interested in the military; it wasn’t just Sept. 11 that drew me to the military,” Fahy said. “I had a sense of duty to serve my country.”
Two months into serving his tour in Tikrit, Iraq, as a liaison officer at an Iraqi coordination center, Fahy received an e-mail from his sister JoEllen Schubmehl, asking Fahy to casually e-mail a “special” girl she worked alongside as a schoolteacher in Nashville, Tenn.
Schubmehl said she knew Cook well as a friend and thought she and Fahy would hit it off.
“I wanted my brother to have the type of person that I knew was a good person at heart – someone who deserves to have a guy like him,” she said. “She’s a kind person, she’s an honest person, someone who is down-to-earth … someone who would fit well into our family.”
Though Fahy found the request odd – “My sister never recommended me to another female; that was the first indication that there was something special about Melissa,” he said – he sent her an e-mail, and she responded right away, beginning a penpal relationship that would result in thousands of e-mails sent back and forth while Fahy served in Iraq. The two talked about dozens of subjects, and all of their e-mails are still saved in their inboxes, Fahy and Cook said.
“We talked about everything. You name it, we talked about it,” Fahy said.
“Lots of questions and answers,” Cook added.
But two months of e-mail correspondence finally culminated in a face-to-face encounter after Fahy arrived home for his mid-tour leave. Although they were a little nervous, they said, they knew their feelings were serious, the couple said.
“We were in love with each other before we met,” Fahy said. “Meeting each other sealed the deal.”
THE WEDDING RACE
While Fahy and Cook’s relationship developed naturally, their introduction into the world of reality television was a little more random, they said. Fahy learned of Race to the Altar while watching a Martha Stewart wedding segment on NBC’s TODAY Show from Iraq.
The segment was part of the show’s annual “TODAY Throws a Wedding” series, which this year took a reality-show spin, pitting five couples against each other to win a dream wedding in New York City. In each episode, couples must compete against one another in various challenges, such as constructing a wedding dress in 15 minutes, selling cupcakes for charity and guessing the price of various items, such as a Toyota Camry, which Fahy and Cook won on the most recent installment of the show.
But the challenges don’t play a role in which couple goes home that episode – instead, that is decided by the viewers, who vote for their favorite couples. If they win, Fahy and Cook – one of the two final couples – will get married live on TODAY on June 25, with viewers choosing the couple’s rings, the wedding gown, the tuxedo, the attendants’ attire, the cake and the honeymoon.
When applications for the show became available, Schubmehl suggested the couple share their story. After filling out a 35-page application and creating a one-minute video, the couple was told within one day that they had qualified for the show as one of five couples for the chance to win a free wedding in New York City.
Fahy and Cook ascribe their success from winning two out of three competitions to “just being themselves,” Cook said.
“We’re just going to have fun, because no matter what, we are getting married and it’s about our commitment to each other,” she said. “Being humble and being who we are has been an advantage to us. We try to rely on each other when things get crazy – plus, being athletic helps.”
In fact, competition is a playful aspect of their relationship, the couple added.
“We’re competitive in almost everything. When we’re sitting around watching Jeopardy, we’ll see who can get the most answers right. Life is like a competition between us,” Fahy said.
Though the couple would like to win, Cook said her and Fahy feel they are no more qualified than any other couple in deserving the free wedding.
“We’re regular people from regular, hard-working families. We were lucky to have the opportunity to enter into this race,” she said. Although we want this more than probably anyone else, I wouldn’t say we deserve this.”
If they do win, Cook said she hopes she “won’t faint, because if I do, Ryan will have to catch me.”
If they lose, however, the experience will still be worth it, she added.
“I think we are winners for being able to make it this far. We won a car … and not many people can say they won a car on national television,” Cook said. “If we don’t win the wedding, it’s OK. We’ll get married eventually.”
To vote in the Race to the Altar competition, log onto www.todayshow.com. Viewers must vote by Monday at noon. The show airs Wednesday morning.
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