Climber Alex Honnold has everyone's attention right now. It's pretty hard not to be impressed when the guy just climbed a skyscraper in Taiwan, in under two hours. He's also the first person to ever do this "free-solo", which means he did it without any protective gear.
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When he's not busy climbing urban structures and waving to thousands of onlookers below, Alex is focused on being a husband and father to his wife, Sanni McCandless, and their two kids.
McCandless acknowledges that being married to someone like Honnold, who enjoys activities most people would consider dangerous, is definitely different. However, when it comes to living out his dreams of climbing Taipei 101, she told The Independent that she's glad "he got to do what he wanted to do".
When Taipei came together, McCandless expressed that her main objective was to support Honnold in his dream.
"I felt that in my heart, of we're like in, full support mode, whatever happens, happens. I'm just here for you. I'm here to problem-solve, support, be optimistic, be positive, make sure everything's in line. And Alex does that for me in my projects and in my life and my work."
"That's what makes us a good team, I think."
"Opposites Attract" When It Comes to Alex Honnold and Sanni McCandless' Love Story
In an essay McCandless wrote for Outside, she explained that she actually met Honnold at his book signing in 2015. Thinking he was "cute and funny", she left her number on the table for him. At the time, she didn't know much about the author.
"He was like no one I had ever met: incredibly brave, quietly in need of love and approval, confident, and whip-smart," she explained. "Mostly, he was playful and made me laugh."
On their first date at a pizza joint, she came to realize that they were total opposites. "As we chatted, we learned about each other: I was an outdoor dilettante; he had committed his entire life to rock climbing. I lived with four friends in the middle of the city; he spent entire rest days alone in his van. I treasured nuance and context; he found clarity in the black and white. We were total opposites, yet somehow there was a spark."
Later on, she says that it was the Free Solo documentary that would prepare them for marriage. "Alex and I faced almost every pressure a new relationship could take," she shared. "We fell in love in front of a film crew, knowing that if it didn't work out, we'd have complicated many people's lives for nothing. We had to discuss not only the prospect of death, but what we each needed to truly feel alive."
So, when Honnold pulled out a box with a ring in it, asking if McCandless was ready to "keep doing" what they were doing, she didn't hesitate to say "yes."
The Honnolds were married in an intimate wedding on September 13, 2020, on land near Lake Tahoe. They would later have two kids, June and Alice.
