Hot Couples

Springfield's most happening duo talk about their favorite subjects: each other.

Pardon us for thinking Webster’s Dictionary is full of crap. Sure, it does a utilitarian job of explaining the meaning of the word “couple”, but anyone who has been a part of a couple, even a short-lived, disastrously ended one, knows there’s no way to give such a connection a universal definition. Each pair is as different as the people who comprise it. The resulting relationship is a living, thinking and—especially— changing thing. It can be beautiful, and it can be dramatic. Sometimes, it can even be uneventful and just, well, regular.

No one knows that better than the five couples we found to profile in our second-annual Hot Couples issue. They range from a pair of twentysomethings planning an August 1 wedding (local news personality Natalie Nunn and her fiancé, Frank Tristan), to a job-separated pair desperately looking forward to being back together (new Missouri State Bears basketball coach Cuonzo Martin and wife Roberta).

What follows are their very different, very personal stories, told in their own words. We hope you enjoy reading about them, and learn a thing or two from them. Just don’t define them.

Curious about the results of our Newlywed Game–style couples' quiz? Click here to find out who won!

Each couple told us their story, Mad Lib–style! Click here to download your own, blank Mad-Lib!

Whitney & Ben Creehan

Natalie Nunn & Frank Tristan

Micky & Janae Hardy

Roberta & Cuonzo Martin

Lindsay & Justin French