Former Wipeout host and Hallmark darling Jill Wagner is known for her head-over-heels romances on the small screen. But off-screen, she's been living a real-life love story with her husband David Lemanowicz.
They may not have met on a Christmas tree farm or while battling it out over a holiday cookie decorating competition, but even without the Hallmark charm, their romance is just as sweet. And with her breaking out of her cozy romance tropes by starring in Taylor Sheridan's new espionage thriller series Special Ops: Lioness, everyone wants to know the man behind Jill Wagner's happy ending.
So—who is her longtime love? Here's everything we know about David Lemanowicz.
He's A Former Hockey Player
Not much is known about Lemanowicz's background other than his profession. The Canadian-born player was in eight different leagues during his career and was drafted in the National Hockey League by the Florida Panthers. According to his stats, he was active on the ice from 1991 to 2008.
They Met When She Was 17
Wagner shared on a Hallmark Home & Family episode that he was 20 years old, and she was 17 when they first met in North Carolina. "I snuck out of my dad's window at home and went out at night, which I wasn't supposed to," she said. "I snuck out and met him. Fell completely head over heels. We went out three times, and then I never heard from him again."
Yep, that's right. Lemanowicz ghosted his future wife when they first got together. But according to him, his behavior was pretty mild compared to his peers. "It's not my favorite part of the story," he said on the show. "20-year-old athlete, 20-year-old hockey player, I'm just saying. Guys have done worse as 20-year-old guys."
While the exact details of how they met are unknown, they are apparently so cute that Hallmark is supposedly turning the origins of their relationship into a TV movie. Nothing has been in the press about this since 2017, but back then, Wagner told New Orleans Living that only she, not Lemanowicz, would star in it.
"We have an interesting love story," she said. "I wrote the treatment and I'll be a producer and act, but it's going to be weird to cast my husband. It's something my family is going to die over, especially when I have kids."
They Reconnected 17 Years Later
But before there were ever talks of movie scripts and husband-casting, the two had to reconnect after the ghosting incident. As fate would have it, they ran into each other in Afghanistan when Wagner was on a USO tour, and Lemanowicz was active in the Air Force as a special agent.
Even though the photo promoting her for the event at his base didn't look like the Wagner he knew, he recognized the name and decided to do some research. "I hadn't seen her in 17 years," he said. "My boss told me to check out the event, and I look at the photo and said, 'I think I know this girl.'"
"Low and behold, I go to the chow event where she's signing autographs, and I ask her if she's from North Carolina. She says 'yes.' I say, 'Little town outside of Greensboro?' She says, 'yes.' I say, 'Did you ever go to any North Carolina Monarchs hockey games?' She says, 'yes.' I say, 'Do you remember dating the goalie?'"
Unfortunately, during this chance encounter, they were both seeing other people. But a few years later, in 2016, they ran into each other again while they were both visiting L.A. "The day I came back from filming Christmas Cookies, my girlfriends wanted to take me out to dinner," Wagner said. "We were leaving (in Los Angeles) ... and then I hear, 'Jill!' and David had just walked in the restaurant I was walking out of, and boom!"
They Married In 2017
It wasn't long after they reconnected that Lemanowicz and Wagner knew they were meant for each other. They got engaged in 2016 and tied the knot in 2017. In addition to his daughter, Lija, they also have two girls: Army Gray, born in 2020, and Daisy Roberta, born in 2021. She had some complications post-pregnancy after Daisy that just made her love her husband even more.
"You made me feel safe, although my situation was not," she wrote on her Instagram. "I watched you care for our newest daughter during that time (while I could not) and I know she also felt safe in daddy's arms. To endure all of this was hard, I know, but what came next was unimaginable for us both. Our little flower was having complications too. My heart fell into a million pieces as we tried to process what was happening.
"And just like that, you moved into action to make sure both of your girls were taken care of. It's been the toughest 11 days of my life, but it was your strength that pulled us all three out of it. As we bring home our beautiful healthy baby girl today, I am reminded of how precious life truly is and the importance of having a strong devoted partner."
It sounds like David Lemanowicz and Jill Wagner have a truly incredible love story, and there's no doubt that they'll continue to be each other's biggest fans. And we'll continue to keep our fingers crossed for that future Hallmark movie!
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