Jerome Semler, 43; Alexandra Semler, 30
Jerome: We were celebrating my 43rd birthday at Pier Village in Long Branch. It’s so convenient, just 35 minutes from the Westfield area, where we live. We went down for the day. After dinner, we went upstairs to have a couple cocktails by the pool and catch a sunset.
We have friends who live near Long Branch, so we go there every Sunday to visit. We swim, there’s a tiki bar on the beach, we have lunch, we go fishing. Our passions are the sea and the sun.
We’re expecting. My wife will be eight months pregnant in June. She’s 30. First child, first marriage. For years before I met her I was busy with my career. I started a maintenance company after college, and it required all my time. Now, twenty years later, it’s a lot less consuming.
We met in an aerobics class at a gym in Westfield—Power Flex, a combination of aerobics and weight training. There was the physical attraction initially. Then, as classes went on, we became friends, and that was it.
Alexandra: I did my exercises and left. I never paid attention to him, until one day he came over and asked me my name and invited me for a cup of coffee. I didn’t go out with him that day. I’m from Colombia, so I was kind of afraid. I know how South American men are. They don’t respect women.
He asked me out for a month. After class, he used to say, ‘Hi, what are you going to do today?’ So I would say I was busy. He would insist and insist: ‘Come on, let’s go for a cup of coffee. Come on, I’m not going to do anything bad to you. Don’t be afraid.’ Finally, I said, ‘Yes.’ He asked where I lived. I was still cautious. I said, ‘We’d better meet at the gym.’
We went in his car. He invited me to a very nice restaurant down the Shore, between Sea Bright and Long Branch. We went out for three months, but, you know, as friends. He was a gentleman. He didn’t even touch my hand. After three months, it started to get more serious. We went out for a year and a half, then we moved in together. We married two and a half years after we met.
Jerome: She’s a very calming, very sweet soul. We’ll be together three years come November. When this picture was taken, we had been married a little over a year—more of a newlywed relationship. That was a romantic evening, for sure.
Alexandra: He’s very sweet, very family oriented. I really like that. He’s the youngest one. He has six brothers and one sister. He really cares about them. Very Italian. They have the same customs that Spanish people have. My sister-in-law doesn’t have to call before coming over—everybody’s welcome. When we get together, it’s a blast, everybody’s laughing.
Jerome: She’s a very up person, and I’m an up person. She’s a shaker and mover, not the type to be in the house watching TV. But she has simple tastes. I don’t perceive that she needs to be driving the fanciest car or staying at the Ritz-Carlton. She doesn’t like spoiled children. I think she’s going to be a good disciplinarian.
Alexandra: We can’t wait until the munchkin comes out. We found out it’s a boy. When I hear kids whining or crying for toys, I say to him, ‘I was raised differently. I was raised that you don’t ask for things, you have to work hard if you want something.’ I would like to teach my kids respect.