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Words: Maddi Glendinning Photos: Supplied present, not even a card. I decided on that day that I never wanted my wife to feel that way on Valentine’s Day”. Let’s just go ahead and call him the real-life Noah Calhoun shall we? This year, Lonnie launched a social media campaign to get people from every continent and country to take a photo with a sign that reads “I Love Anne” and upload it to the dedicated Facebook page. So far, people from over 40 countries have participated. We asked the pair about the craziest moment to date and they told us, “People taking part in the campaign in Egypt were detained when they tried to take a photo in front of the pyramids with the sign. The police thought they were protesting! They had to try and explain who Anne was!” We were curious as to whether the romance lasts all year or if Lonnie saves it all up for one day. Anne tells us that he has always been a romantic and consistently surprises her with gifts throughout the year. We asked Lonnie how long he planned on keeping this up for. His reply? “Until the day I die”. It’s official: we love love. And Lonnie. IN THE LEAD-UP TO VALENTINE’S DAY THIS WEEK, TEAM GRAZIA have been discussing our feelings on the topic. Most of us agreed that when it comes to V-Day, we’re not really on board. However, that all changed when an email landed in our inboxes telling us about Lonnie, 45, and Anne, 39. Every year on Valentine’s Day, Lonnie one-ups Cupid in a big way. The pair have been married for 13 years and each V-Day Lonnie has organised something amazing. Previous acts of love include writing out Anne’s favourite poem in pebbles on a one-acre block of land (it took him three weeks!), setting up a full-size carousel in their front yard and creating a garden complete with stone path and flowers inside their city apartment because Anne missed having a green space to garden in. When we asked Lonnie why he started this tradition for Anne he told us, “It started when I was a kid and I visited my grandmother at the diner she worked in on Valentine’s Day. My grandfather didn’t believe in presents so in the 50 years they were together she never received one DUBAI’S MOST ROMANTIC MAN participants in New York, Egypt and Sydney are just a few of the submissions that Lonnie has received for his “I Love Anne” campaign so far Anti-clockwise from main: Lonnie and Anne looking all loved-up; the full-size carousel that Lonnie had set-up in their front yard; photos from 5 27
