Wayne Gretzky and Janet Jones are one of the most iconic celebrity couples in the world. In a classic case of ‘Sports meets Hollywood’, Gretzky and Jones have maintained a 35-year-long marriage and are still going strong.  Although, how did The Great One first meet ‘The Flamingo Kid’ star? Let’s delve into that story.

Jones was a contestant on Merv Griffin’s TV program ‘Dance Fever’, fresh off doing movies such as ‘Grease 2 (1982)’ and ‘Staying Alive (1983)’. In one episode of the dance show, Gretzky made an appearance as a celebrity judge, while Jones was that week’s musical guest. This was their first-ever meeting, although the would-be couple didn’t start talking to each other seriously until another few years.

Wayne Gretzky meets Janet Jones at a Lakers game which starts their journey

From 1985-1987, Janet Jones was in a relationship with tennis player Vitas Gerulaitis, while Gretzky was in a longtime relationship with his then-singer girlfriend, Vicky Moss. During this period, Gretzky and Jones would have brief run-ins from time to time. But neither was available to date and hence it was simply left as fleeting encounters.

It was in 1987 when the two met at a Los Angeles Lakers game. After the game, the two had dinner together which marked the official start of a lovely journey. Jones said, “We’ve never been apart since”, knowing in that brief moment, that he was the one.

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Sparks flew between the two during that encounter and in no time they became the new couple in town. The following year Gretzky proposed to Jones over the phone, and after she said ‘yes’, they were subsequently married in a lavish ceremony at St. Joseph’s Basilica in Edmonton. That very year in 1988, Jones gave birth to her first of five children, Paulina. Jones was four months pregnant with Paulina and had to wear a $30,000 gown, glittering with beads and crystals, while going to her wedding.

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The Canadian press dubbed the event “The Royal Wedding”. While it was not an event at Buckingham Palace in London, the glamour, hype, and celebrity status attached to that wedding made it no less than a royal one for all Canadians.

Jones talks about Gretzky and her father, and their move to LA

In an interview with Canadian women’s magazine Chatelaine, Jones revealed many details about her current family life and how she related it to the family she grew up with. She drew a similarity between her husband Gretzky and her father Robert Jones, who worked in the aviation industry. She said, “He’d travel like Wayne. He’d be in town for a period of time and he’d be out of town”. She faced the same ordeal with Gretzky, for a large part of her marriage when he was playing.

Originally married into a Canadian family, Jones and Gretzky’s move to California happened very quickly into their marriage. When she asked about moving to Canada, Jones feared they would be constantly followed there, since she married the most famous sportsperson in the country. However, LA enabled them to maintain a low profile and live peacefully. They soon started a family and set ‘Marriage Goals’ for every couple in North America. She said, “If you’re a happy family, then it’s fine. If you’re an unhappy family, you’ll find reasons like those to get upset.”

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Do you think Jones and Gretzky’s long and successful marriage is what ‘couple goals’ should be like? Do let us know.