College Romance Turns To Lifetime Love

Who doesn’t love Black love?! We do and we celebrate it with our “Put A Ring On It” series. Each week, we’ll feature YOUR engagement and wedding stories, romantic photos and even tips that’ll help other Beauties out on their Big Day. Check back each week for a new installment!

This week, we spoke with Jenee Duncan and Corwin Chappell about meeting each other years after attending the same high school! The two happened to bump into each other at a college game and their relationship began.

HER SIDE

I met Corwin my very first day of college at the University of Missouri. After moving into my dorm, I met up with friends to attend the university’s Midnight BBQ. There were so many activities taking place, but we decided to stop and watch the 3-on-3 basketball competition. Trying to get a better view of the game, I tapped the tall guy (Corwin) standing in front of us and asked if he would mind stepping aside so we could see. After him and his friends struck up a conversation with my group, we found out that we were both from Chicago and even briefly attended the same high school. We exchanged numbers and I really believed that at most we’d become good friends.

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Well, that friendship grew and pretty quickly I realized that my feelings were becoming more than platonic. I tried my best to ignore those feelings because 1) I was NOT looking for a relationship and 2) I could envision a future with him. That’s a lot for an 18-year-old college freshman! After many conversations and spending more and more time together (and developing deeper feelings), we finally made our relationship official in April of 2008.

The Surprising Moment

Fast forward to April 2014, we went to Chicago for a weekend to celebrate our daughter’s first birthday with family and friends. The day after her party, we made plans to go on a date and just take time to hang out as a couple. I was unaware of our actual plans, as he told me he would be planning our night. We ended up taking an amazing architecture boat tour along the Chicago River. Afterwards, we walked along Navy Pier and it was at this point I noticed he seemed to be very preoccupied. I didn’t think too much of it; I just enjoyed having some “us time.”

While we were walking, we got to a certain spot and I looked up and noticed how awesome our view of the skyline was. He started talking and telling me that he hadn’t been entirely honest about his some of his whereabouts over the previous month. I remember being a bit hesitant about where the conversation was going, but when I saw him reach into his jacket pocket, I quickly realized what was happening. After pulling out the ring box he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him! I don’t even think I actually got the word “yes” out because I was so surprised and overwhelmed. After all the tears, hugging, and “I love yous,” we went to dinner where our friends were waiting to celebrate our engagement. I’m so excited to embark on this new chapter in our lives. He truly is my best friend and soul mate. I’m looking forward to becoming one with the most amazing man I’ve ever met.

NEXT: Check out his side of the story and that BEAUTIFUL ring!

HIS SIDE

“Didn’t you go to Morgan Park?” That’s how this journey started about seven years ago. I met Jeneé while attending the University of Missouri in Columbia. It was the annual welcome back bbq that the University put on the week before classes started. I was in my sophomore year attending the event with a few of my friends. While watching the 3-on-3 basketball tournament, a young lady tapped me on my shoulder and asked me if I would mind moving over a bit so that she could see the game. I, of course, moved over, but when I did, I caught a glance of her. She seemed so familiar, as if we had met before. Morgan Park is the high school I attended in Chicago prior to Mizzou, so I assumed I had seen her there. She did graduate from Morgan Park, but was a year behind me. We exchanged contact info and I offered to show her and her friends around the campus any time they wanted. This was all intended to be platonic. Just me looking out for a group of girls from my home town.

We hung out a lot in group settings over the next few months, never really paying much attention to each other. She was stubborn and not afraid to speak her opinion (in detail). After some time, we began to hang out outside of group settings where we would sometimes stay up until 2 or 3 a.m. talking about who knows what. She was just an all-around cool person to hang out with. Somewhere during that time, I began to feel a certain type of way about her unexpectedly. Then came the denial phase where I convinced myself that I didn’t like her because we were just really cool and she didn’t like me like that anyway. Turns out I was wrong, and she was really just doing the same thing. It took us almost a year to finally stop pretending and just be together. Four years later, after we finished our undergraduate degree, we ended up in Athens, GA, so that she can pursue her masters.

The Moment He Popped The Question

I purchased the ring from a Zales that I had taken her into previously for her birthday. The plan from here was to propose to her while we were back home in Chicago the following month. The hardest part was hiding it from her for a full month in the house that we both share. The kicker is that the day I purchased the ring, I had to make up an elaborate story to explain me getting home from work so late. She didn’t buy it and I was definitely in the dog house for that full month. The day came and my plan was to propose to her while we were taking a boat tour of the Chicago river, but it didn’t give me the opportunity I needed. I then thought about proposing on the ferris wheel at Navy Pier, only to find out there was a last-minute private party scheduled and they had blocked off access to the ferris wheel. Frustrated and feeling defeated by my poor planning, I simply looked into the eyes of the woman I love and got all the motivation I needed to carry on without a plan. As we walked down the pier, we stopped at a beautiful spot. With the Chicago Skyline as my backdrop, I confessed my whereabouts on the day I got home from work late. I don’t think she fully understood until I got down on one knee and asked, “will you marry me?” She said yes. But, to think if I had been standing a foot to my left or right in August 2007, we may never have met.

Are you recently engaged or married? Do you know someone else who’s about the head down the aisle? Let us know by messaging us on Facebook or emailing us at hbgotthering@gmail.com.

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PUT A RING ON IT: Jenee & Corwin Went To The Same High School, But Didn’t Meet Each Other Until… was originally published on hellobeautiful.com