Yahoo Finance Couple Gets Engaged in 5th Grade Classroom Where They First Met: 'Like Something Out of a Dream'
Fenn David
Simon Jenkins and Peyton Wynn were just 11 years old when their love story began in a 5th grade classroom in Alabama. Ten years later, the couple, now 21, got engaged in the same exact spot.
Wynn tells PEOPLE she was expecting the couple to celebrate their 10-year anniversary on June 16 with a dinner date. Instead, she found herself back at Johnson Elementary School in Pinson.
"Little did I know we were actually going to the place it all started, and I finally got to say yes to the love of my life," she says. "It was like something out of a dream."
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Even their 5th grade teacher was there to celebrate the occasion.
"It was such an honor to be asked to be present," Patti Hathorn wrote in a Facebook post. "It is another moment that reminds me of my 'why' as I continue to love 'my' children each year."
Fenn David
Wynn tells PEOPLE she knew there was "something special" about Jenkins shortly after they met.
"We went to our first homecoming that fall together," she says, adding that he's her "best friend."
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Jenkins was also quickly smitten. "When I first set eyes on Peyton in elementary school, I felt my heart beat a little faster," he told NBC affiliate WVTM-TV.
In eighth grade, Jenkins told the outlet "it started to hit me" that Wynn "could be the one."
Sure enough, the couple remained together, celebrating their 10th anniversary shortly after they both turned 21.
Courtesy Peyton Wynn
Knowing her son was looking for a special way to propose, Jenkins' mother, an event planner, offered to help however she could, according to WVTM-TV.
"We were going out to eat to celebrate our tenth anniversary and my mom called," Jenkins told the outlet. "She told me that she forgot something at her PTA meeting at Johnson Elementary School."
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Jenkins said he apologized to Wynn and told her that they needed to swing by the school.
"You should have seen Peyton's face when she walked into that classroom," Jenkins remarked.
Courtesy Peyton Wynn
Hathorn said it's these kinds of moments that make teaching so special. "For any teacher that is asked or wonders 'Why we do what we do,' " the educator wrote on Facebook. "My response is this: We get to watch more than just academic growth in our classrooms."
The teacher added, "We watch laughter. We watch friendships blossom and grow. We watch as these relationships continue to develop, and often we get to witness them last a lifetime. And, in some instances, we are privileged to be a part of this continuance."
Wynn tells PEOPLE the couple is planning to tie the knot in Fall 2023.
