TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - Happy Valentine's Day!
WTXL is celebrating the day of love with a 2017 throwback.
Evening anchor Paulo Salazar and morning anchors Christine Souders and Malcolm Hornsby introduced you to couples from their 20's to their 60's and shared their love stories with you.
Now, a year later, we're catching up with the couples from our Modern Love series to see how things are going and what, if anything, has changed.
John & Kathie Kern
We first introduced you to Kathie and her husband John Kern one year ago.
Kathie, a divorcee for several years, and John, a widower, found a second chance at love on the dance floor.
"We dance more now than we ever did before," said Kathie. "We probably dance four days a week."
And it's no surprise since Square Dancing and Round Dancing brought them together. This past year has been full of learning how to blend both of their lives into one and how to compromise for what's important.
"I know when you're younger and you get to the point of compromise, you fuss and pout and storm about," said John. "But now I pretty much know that's the way things work. That's the way you make things work."
"It's more now about embracing the compromise because we have the opportunity to do that," said Kathie. "And for a long time we were both alone, so it's just nice to have something to compromise about."
The adventurous couple loves to kayak when they can and recently purchased a 26 foot camper they plan on hitting the open road with. Even though future destinations are unknown, they do know one thing, whatever it is, they'll be doing it together.
"If you have separate hobbies you have separate lives," said Kathie. "I think one of the really important things is that our faith defines us. We start every morning together with a prayer on our knees. And that is a very humbling thing. It makes us both realize how incredibly blessed we are."
Don & Kristie May
It was a year ago, the last time we heard from Don and Kristie May.
For the couple, who met on Florida State's campus, there's really no long, drawn out game plan on keeping their love strong. It's pretty simple actually.
"We enjoy what we do and spending time together," said Don.
The time together, a little more frequent these days, with one daughter off to college and the other entering adulthood with a 21st birthday. The two cherish these prized moments alone.
"I probably realized that a lot more over the last year," said Don. "You don't have to do exotic things, but we do fun stuff."
Fun, like a trip to the Bahamas. The occasion? Twenty-five years of marriage. 2017 certainly left it's mark on the Mays.
"Awesome. Great family year. A lot of milestones," said the Mays.
And while change is inevitable in life, the visible bond between the two, along with Kristie's famous smile, appear to be hear to stay.
Kenny & Annelise Collette
After meeting on Facebook, the two fell for each other over their love of music.
"As soon as I heard his music, I saw him and I was like he's so cute I have to get to know him," said Annelise.
One year later, they're still in harmony.
"We've had a really great year," said Annelise. "We are still getting along and we're still in love. Not much has changed except one thing... we had a baby! This is Aurora she's 4 months old, actually the last time we filmed with you we just found out we were pregnant around 6 weeks. Too soon to say anything.""
While Annelise says Aurora looks like Kenny, Kenny says the 4-month-old has Annelise's personality. Both are curious to see what their daughter's dreams and aspirations will be.
Whether it's music like her parents, or something else, they say it doesn't matter as long as she's healthy and happy.
You can see all the videos from our Modern Love series last year at the following links below:
Modern Love: Finding the One in Your 20's and 30's
Modern Love: Finding & Sustaining Love in Your 40's
