Alex + John’s Wanderlove Story

Her Name:  Alex Dorman
Her Birthplace:  Sugar Land, Tx
His Name: John Phillips
His Birthplace:  Houston, Tx

Where did you meet?  Houston, Tx. We met on the first day of rehearsal for The Fifth of July, a main stage show at University of Houston in 2005. I was shy and quiet and John was overly confident, shaggy hair matted down with his ever-present Zelda hat…  and it was a beautiful, strictly platonic relationship from that day until Sept 2015.

Can you identify specific decisions or life events that brought you together?  We both decided to attend the University of Houston, kicking off an awesome friendship. We also both moved to Los Angeles around the same time to pursue acting.  This allowed our friendship to continue developing…from long phone conversations to getting the opportunity to act side by side, on camera. Like most good things in life, it was a lovely combination of luck and good-timing that took our relationship beyond the friend-zone. And wine. Wine helped. 🙂

What were your first impressions of each other and what initially attracted you? Alex: “I initially thought John was adorably fratty, extremely confident and full on hijinx. Once I got to know him, I realized my first impression was spot-on. I also quickly realized that his confidence was extremely well justified- John was not only a very talented actor but he was good at pretty much everything he did. I was attracted to his quit-wit, his round, little cheeks and the fact that he was an incredible listener.”

John: “I thought that Alex had a very genuine, giving and gifted heart & mind.  She was also magnetic in her beauty.  I’m just disappointed that it took so long to win her over.”

As you saw more of each other, what really made you fall in love? As we started seeing more of each other, TEN  years after we had first met, we realized that all of those initial attractions and  impressions were very much still present. We realized that we had both grown a lot since college and our hopes and desires in life were very much aligned. It also helped that we were both single at the same time for the FIRST time since we had known each other.

Did your love face any big challenges? Any differences you had to work through? The biggest challenge was deciding to move our relationship beyond a friendship. We both really valued this friendship and wanted to be sure it was going to work before we risked losing what we already had.  I also had an ex-boyfriend who was very close to our  friend-group which made it a huge challenge to make our new journey public. So we actually kept it hidden for a few months.  Sneaking around was kind of exciting, but not exactly ideal.

If married or engaged, who proposed and how?  In September of 2017, we went on a trip to visit some friends in Italy and took a small detour through Paris. John had spent some time giving bike tours in Paris and spent most of the trip showing me his favorite spots, bridges, and hole-in-the-wall restaurants. During a long walk on an exceptionally cloudy day, we stopped to take pictures on the Saint Louis Bridge. John got down on one knee, Parisians walking by without so much as a side-glance, and the rest was history! As we walked passed the bridge, there was a cafe table on the street with a bottle of champagne and bouquet of roses waiting. John had a friend in Paris, unbeknownst to me, who had set up the table and was taking paparazzi pictures of the whole occasion from across the street. We spent the next couple of weeks on cloud 9, drinking and eating too much as we meandered around France and Italy. It was magical.

Where do you live now? We both live on the east side of town in Los Angeles.

How do the places you have been together help define or shape your relationship? We are both Texans through and through and know that’s where we both eventually want to end up. But we also absolutely love traveling together and have been everywhere from Ponza, Italy to Trinidad, Cuba. It seems that each trip we take not only brings us closer together but also widens our perspective of the world and appreciation of each other.  We’re lucky on many fronts.

Are there any locations that are special to you as a couple?
-Ojai, California is where we first started secretly getting away and getting to know each other.

-The Saint Louis Bridge is now forever “our spot,” of course. Along with the little cafe on the corner where we popped the champagne and ate a cone full of gelato after the engagement.

-One of our first long trips together was to Havana, Cuba. The view of the entire city was breathtaking from our first, little casa particular. That rooftop view will forever be particularly important and a place we want to return to.

Do you see your location changing in the future? Why or why not? We’re both open to going wherever doors open in our lives. So yes, we see ourselves traveling anywhere & everywhere and settling down where ever feels right or where ever opportunity calls.
And, of course, there will always be Texas. <3

In your own words, describe your style as a couple:
Lazy adventurers with occasional class.

What interests or passions do you share?
traveling, acting, family, squeezing (per John’s request), camping, cooking together, film-making, picnicking, long walks in foreign cities