Waking up and starting the workday was a mundane routine for Jennifer Valentyne — until one day she met the man of her dreams. Thinking her new camera guy on set was just a young intern, she was shocked and pleasantly surprised to find out his actual age — much closer to her own. Friendship quickly blossomed into love behind the scenes of Breakfast Television. The happily married couple are proud parents to two beautiful children, Jackson and Georgia. Here, Jennifer shares their story.
The first impression
I loved his quirky sense of humour, and in between weather hits we would sit around and laugh hysterically. I would joke with my roommate at the time that I thought my camera guy liked me. Greg is five years my junior, and I didn’t think of him romantically. One afternoon, Greg told me he liked someone and didn’t know how to tell them. I thought he was talking about me and that I’d have to let him down easy. After all, he had been flirting with me for two months! When he said another girl’s name, my heart went into my stomach. I couldn’t believe it. He liked someone else! I tried to act cool by pretending I didn’t care but it was written all over my face.
The first date
There was never a first date. In fact, he still owes me one! Three days after he told me he liked someone else, our company held its annual holiday party at the Docks. He never left my side. I acted a little cold but didn’t let him out of my sight. By the end of the night, most people had left the bar and we were alone. And then he said something that changed my life. Greg said he was the best kisser, and that if I kissed him, I wouldn’t regret it because it would be the best kiss of my life. I couldn’t believe his nerve! I wasn’t going to kiss him, but I couldn’t stop thinking about his confidence and about what he said, so I turned around and kissed him. He was right! It was the best kiss I’ve ever had.
The proposal
There really was no proposal. I was pregnant, and we were living together, so we decided to get married. We always knew we were getting married anyway. We definitely talked about marriage, but we talked more about kids. We really wanted kids, and we knew that we wanted a boy named Jackson.
The big day
Greg and I were married at Casa Loma on Jan. 28, 2000. I took a cancellation date at the venue. We planned the wedding in two and half months. My wedding day was magical. You know what was great? We didn’t have that stress of planning a wedding for over a year. People plan their weddings, and then you get to the day, and it’s such a letdown because you’ve put so much weight on that day. We didn’t. We didn’t have time. Picking a caterer, going out and doing taste testings: we had something to do every day. It went by so quickly and the day couldn’t have been more perfect.
Secret to their success
We live for our kids. We never want to be without them. They grow up so fast, and we don’t want to miss a thing. Also, Greg and me still working together is great. I’m the “LiveEye” host for BT. Greg is a technical floater on BT and is still my camera guy when I host in the studio. And of course, laughter. You can’t sweat the small stuff.