Encore: When Two Open Marriages Collide
Cora and Andy are not your typical couples — they’re more like two different sides of the same coin.
They met at a church event in the small town of West Bend, Iowa, when Cora was 15 and Andy was 18. Cora’s family grew up in West Bend, where her sister had a house. Andy’s family was originally from the nearby town of Crawford.
“I remember thinking, ‘It’s the perfect little town to fall in love in,’” Cora, 28, told InsideEdition.com. “There wasn’t anything else like it.”
In fact, Andy’s parents even went so far as to move the family to Crawford that year because Cora’s family couldn’t find a new house for them to live in.
“My parents decided to move to Iowa to be closer to my sister,” Andy, 30, told InsideEdition.com, “and I thought it was a good move for my dad’s business.”
The two became engaged on their way to Crawford in December of 2001, and the two decided to get married in Crawford after Andy graduated from college.
“Both of our families were really happy for us,” Andy said. “My family came down and had their wedding at our church, and my mom and dad had their wedding at my house.”
The two families lived together as a married couple for about five months before Andy’s parents decided to move, so Cora and Andy took their three children and moved into Andy’s family’s house in Crawford.
“Because we had to get new licenses for the house, it was a little bit of a drag for a while,” Andy said.
It was also an adjustment for Andy and Cora. Each had already had their own families before they met.
“My mother never wanted to go to a wedding before Andy; my sister didn’t want to attend my wedding,” Cora said. “I didn’t want to get married to
