Considering they were pretty well known, they had gotten used to their pictures getting a lot of attention. But this picture was different. Not only did their followers love it, but it also got the attention of news publications all over the world. The couple didn’t really understand why, though. They began to read comments to try to get to the bottom of it. And there it was. They finally saw it and it had been right in front of them the whole time.
Looking back, Wendy Joseph and Dan Hennessey weren’t always huge Internet stars. Actually, they remember when social media wasn’t such a big deal either. Oddly enough, social media played a huge role in their love story, and eventually their success story, as well. Speaking of their story, it began in 2006 when they they were both young and in college. They didn’t know each other yet, but they were about to cross path in an extremely unconventional way.
Dan was 18 years old and a sophomore in college studying Exercise Science. During this time, Wendy was only 17 and had just graduated from high school. She wanted to pursue a career in public healthcare. Considering Dan was an outgoing kid who loved to party and meet new people, it didn’t take long for him to find Facebook. At the time, Facebook was still very young and only used by college students who were looking to find a date. Dan immediately liked the website.
Dan was one of many people who used Facebook to meet new people to expand his circle of friends. One day, Dan came across a girl named Daphne. They had mutual friends with each, so Dan sent Daphne a message, but she didn’t reply. Dan began to go through Daphne’s friends list when he saw Wendy’s profile. He became smitten with the pictures, so he messaged her, too. At the time, Wendy was nervous about strangers on the internet. Instead of immediately replying, she spoke to Daphne about it. Daphne definitely had some things to say about Dan.
Daphne informed Wendy that Dan sent her a message too, so Wendy decided not to message him back. After a few weeks, Dan sent her another message. Wendy became intrigued, so she went on his profile and realized he knew some people she went to high school with. Wendy finally messaged him back and an online friendship began to blossom. Dan wanted to meet Wendy in real life, so he invited her and her friends to a party at his place. But there was a problem. There wasn’t really a party.
Dan didn’t actually plan a party because he didn’t think Wendy would accept his invitation. As soon as she did, Dan began to talk to his friends and pulled a party together at the last minute. Luckily, he did it. It was the night of the party and the pair instantly hit it off. They drank, danced, and chatted with each other all night. Even when all of the guests left, Wendy stayed behind to hang out with Dan. They had obvious chemistry, but that doesn’t mean things worked out for them right away.
Wendy had just gotten out of a long-term relationship and Dan was enjoying the college partying, so they chose to just be friends. They had gotten extremely close, and after six months, they decided they were ready to try things out as a couple. Seven years later, the couple was still together and still in love. Unfortunately, at this point Wendy realized something: they had changed so much in those years, and they had no idea who they were without each other. So she had to make a painful decision.
Wendy realized she needed to break up with Dan so they could find themselves and search for who they were as individuals. Even though it was extremely difficult, Dan knew she was right. During their breakup, Wendy started her YouTube channel called Wendy’s Curls. Wendy gave hairstyling advice and posted beauty tutorials. She realized her calling, and soon enough, she was brought back together with Dan. Their relationship was just as strong as ever and they were about to enter a new, exciting phase.
Dan began to appear in Wendy’s videos and they soon realized that fans loved seeing them together. They began making videos together. They gave relationship advice and spoke about their life as a couple. Dan created an Instagram account, which quickly gained over 25,000 followers, but not nearly as much as Wendy’s 105,000 followers. In December of 2017, the couple celebrated their 10-year anniversary, but they had no idea what the milestone would mean for them.
To mark their 10th anniversary, Wendy decided to post a side-by-side picture on her Instagram page. The picture on the left was of the couple when they first began to date, and on the right was a current photo. Even though it was a pretty normal thing to do, the post blew up. It only took a few weeks for it to gain over 60,000 likes. Major news outlets, such as The Independent, The Daily Mail, and The Sun, began to pick it up. But why was this photo so popular?
When people saw the photo they couldn’t believe how different Dan and Wendy looked, especially since they looked so much younger. One commenter asked, “Do you both age in reverse?” Another one asked, “What fountain of youth are you drinking from?” As it seems, there is a reason for their incredible transformations.
Even before they became a couple, they both had a strong interest in health and fitness, which could be seen in the careers they chose to have. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that they both work hard on their bodies. When Wendy’s channel on YouTube began to get big, they knew that heading into the fitness niche was an obvious choice for them. They began to post nutrition advice and workout tutorials, but their vision was bigger than Youtube.
Dan and Wendy founded True4You Fitness, which is a fitness coaching company that gives exercise and nutrition advice to their clients. They also started a wellness-focused YouTube channel, but they still talk about their lives and their relationship once in a while. In September 2016, the couple made a huge announcement.
It was September 2016, and Wendy and Dan were on vacation in Paris with some of their friends. Dan had a surprise for Wendy the day they visited the Eiffel Tower. His friend was recording when Dan got down on one knee, pulled out a ring, and asked Wendy to marry him. Of course, Wendy said yes! She was so excited she even forgot what hand to put the ring on. It was a picture-perfect fairy tale, but their life as a couple was about to get even more magical.
After their big trip to Paris and their amazing engagement, Wendy and Dan realized that they weren’t done traveling. The couple was able to save enough money to do something they always dreamed of: spend months traveling abroad. They visited Panama, Costa Rica, Thailand, and Columbia. After they returned to the U.S., they went on vacation to Las Vegas and now they’re busy planning their wedding! Would you live a life like Dan and Wendy’s?