Feature Friday with Kelcey Bridger & Janelle Azevedo
/Can you believe it's already Friday?! TGIF y'all! We've had the busiest last few weeks that we can remember since the show and it's not slowing down any time soon. We have a couple of fun collaborations coming up that we can't wait to tell y'all about. But for now...
We are ecstatic about this week's Feature Friday because it's slightly different than what you're probably used to seeing on here. Based on their answers, Kelcey and Janelle have such an adorable story, one that is somewhat bittersweet, but is nonetheless inspiring and real. It's one that we're sure a lot of people can find similarities with their own story, which is comforting because it makes you realize that maybe we're not so alone after all. Take a look and see what we mean below:
Where are you from? Kelcey: Originally Chowchilla, California. Moved to Holdenville Oklahoma in 2009. Janelle: Tulsa, Oklahoma
Where do you live? We live together in Tulsa, Oklahoma
What’s your Instagram handle? Kelcey:@kelcey_kay, Janelle:@janelleazevedo
Age: Kelcey: 24 Janelle: 22
Relationship status: Dating.
How long have you guys been together? 2 years
How did you guys meet and where? We met online. I (Kelcey) was working a summer job in a small town next to Ardmore, where Janelle was living for the summer on an internship for school. we connected and we were dating a month later!
Choose a movie title for the story of your relationship: The Lucky One
What is something you have had to overcome as a couple? When we started dating we lived three hours apart. We met during a summer where we both lived out of town and when the summer ended and we went back to our schools we did the long distance thing for a year before we had to make a decision, one of us had to move or it wasn’t going to work. So I (Kelcey) moved to where Janelle was and found a school to finish my degree at and we ended up moving in together 6 months later.
Tell us about your first date! Our first date was actually a movie night in! We spent the day building a fort built out pillows, blankets and kitchen chairs and binged watched Orange is the new black.
How would you describe your home décor style? Minimalist with industrial influences.
What is one thing still left on your bucket list? Janelle: own a motorcycle. Kelcey: own everything at Target.
How old were you when you came out and what was your experience like? Janelle: when I was 20 I actually got (metaphorically) backed into a cornerin a doctors office when I was being tested for mono with my very religious mom in the room who kept asking questions about who I was kissing. I tried to brush it off as much as I could but I had to tell her it was my girlfriend and she told my family. In the beginning my family took it really hard and i felt really awkward around them for a while, but I also was so happy with Kelcey I started telling everyone else and things have gotten much better since!
Kelcey: When I was 18 my parents found a text from my girlfriend at the time, who they knew as my best friend, and they took that very hard. Growing up in a small town and having a children’s pastor as a mother didn’t cushion that situation at all. I lost all of the people I considered friends at the time and really just had to start everything from scratch. When I met Janelle and we started dating I just slowly became ok with who I am and we learned to grow in who we were together. My family still isn’t ok or doesn’t support it but we’re all learning how to move forward with it and I’m hoping for the best.
Best advice for staying together? We think the three things that keep us strongest together and that we would gladly hand out as advice is make each other a priority, have strong communication, and don’t get too comfortable. Janelle and I both do our best to work hard at what we both do but when we come home or go out and do something that we are the priority.We are focused on each other and the time we need to grow our relationship. With that we also think that openly and honestly communicating with each other is so important. Last, Living together and being around each other a lot can make us kind of forget to continue to pursue each other and we get comfortable in our routines, so we make an extra effort to not get too comfortable and always pursue each other.
What is the thing you love the most about each other? Kelcey: The thing I love most about Janelle is her heart. She has a heart that strives to be as Christ like as possible and I absolutely adore that. She pushes me everyday to challenge myself and to never be comfortable in my walk with God.
Janelle, you have made my life better in every way possible. You have helped me grow and honestly see and love the person I am today. I adore you and you adored by a loving and gracious God and I am so thankful he loves me enough to bless me with you.
Janelle: Among many things, the thing I love most about Kelcey is how much she cares about people and how effortlessly she can make someone feel important. She has this confidence in who she is that lights up a room and attracts people to her. She inspires me in many ways to be better every day.
