It all began in fourth-grade Sunday school. Rachael Roth was already head over heels with her future husband.
“Apparently, she had this terrible crush on me, and I had no clue,” said Scott Roth.
But the romance wasn’t mutual for a few more years, although Rachael Roth remembers that he used to love to tease her, which is a common sign of affection coming from a 10-year-old boy, she said. “If they like a girl, they’re going to annoy her.”
Scott Roth moved overseas with his family and virtually forgot about the American girl who liked him so much. When he moved back to the same Woodbridge neighborhood three years later, Rachael Roth had trouble recognizing the teenager, but she certainly didn’t forget him.
“It clicked one day that it was the Scott Roth who lived here before,” said Rachael Roth. “I went down to where he was teaching [pre-school at the church] and asked if he remembered me. He said no.”
Scott Roth remembers it a little differently. He said that he “kind of” remembered when she reintroduced herself.
Rachael later invited Scott to a church youth activity. They were both about 16-years-old at this point, so a romance had a better chance of evolving. Scott Roth remembers that they sat down on the floor to do a puzzle together. They began talking, and Scott said he knew immediately they would begin dating.
“We knew at that point we were madly in love and needed to look no further for the rest of our lives,” said Scott Roth.
After spending high school together as sweethearts, and attending Virginia Tech together, it became obvious that the couple’s relationship was solid. Scott Roth wanted to respectfully ask Rachael’s father for her hand in marriage, but a lawnmower chopped up his attempt.
“He was going to ask my dad, and every time he would try to bring it up my dad would bring up this stupid lawnmower.”
The lawnmower needed to be repaired, and it really put Rachael’s father in an unapproachable kind of mood, said Scott Roth. Since the couple was on their way to Virginia Beach for the weekend, Scott missed his opportunity to ask dad.
“I was going to ask her dad and do the right thing,” said Scott Roth. “He and her mom just got wound up about this lawnmower.”
Scott knew her father would have approved, but Rachael Roth said he always felt badly about not officially getting his blessing first.
In Virginia Beach, the setting was perfect for the proposal. Rachael Roth remembers the weather being perfect. They played miniature golf and enjoyed the beach during the day, and then took an evening stroll on the beach under the stars.
“He said ‘Are you having fun,’” Rachael Roth said. “Do you want to have fun the rest of your life?”
The couple married when they were both 21, in 1989. Valentine's Day has always been a little extra-special, said Rachael, since that’s when they shared their first kiss as teens.
“We’ve been happy ever since,” said Rachael.
This year, the couple will renew their wedding vows alongside several other couples on Friday, Feb. 16, at the Emmanuel Lutheran Church, in Vienna.