- Greg Dabice and Janet Fenner went to college together at Montclair State University in Montclair, New Jersey.
- Dabice and Fenner were crowned homecoming king and queen their senior year in 1992, though they never dated.
- In 2019, Dabice and Fenner reconnected through a dating app and instantly connected.
- A little over a year later, they were married on the football field where they were crowned king and queen.
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When Janet Fenner thinks of 20-year-old Greg Dabice, all she can see is “Animal House.”
Fenner, 49, and Dabice, 50, went to Montclair State University together in the ’90s. “He was definitely the party animal,” Fenner said of Dabice, who she knew through Greek life.
Fenner, on the other hand, had a more balanced college experience. “I took part in like the full college life,” she said, telling Insider she was part of the Intrafaternity council and ran track.
Despite the differences between the two, they ended up crossing paths in a pretty memorable way.
Dabice and Fenner were crowned homecoming king and queen in 1992
Both Fenner and Dabice were surprised they won. "When they called my name and then called his name, I was like, 'Oh my gosh,'" Fenner said.
The duo didn't celebrate their win together, though Fenner remembers noticing how handsome Dabice was when they rode on a homecoming float together. But she knew nothing romantic would happen between them because of his party reputation.
"There's no way that I would have touched him with a 10-foot pole," Fenner joked. Plus, Dabice was also dating one of Fenner's good friends from high school at the time, so it just wasn't meant to be.
The two went on to live their own lives, both of them marrying other people. Fenner had two children, while Dabice had five.
But they both got divorced in 2016, and they started looking for a new partner again around the same time.
Fenner swiped right on Dabice on a dating app in 2019, but she didn't recognize him
"I had a few glasses of wine. I went back on the dating app, and I was like, 'Ah, let's just take a look,'" she said of the night she saw him on the app. She swiped right on Dabice, but she didn't know it was him because he sported a beard in his photos that she didn't remember from her college days.
But Dabice recognized Fenner right away. He reached out to a friend from college with a good memory to confirm it was Fenner, and the friend reminded Dabice that he and Fenner had been on homecoming court together. He told him to "go get his queen," according to Fenner.
Dabice reached out to Fenner on Facebook, teasing her for swiping right on him. Fenner quickly remembered who he was, and the duo decided to meet up for drinks.
They ended up talking for hours.
They decided to go on another date, and before they knew it, Fenner and Dabice were an item.
Dabice knew Fenner was the one for him the moment they reconnected. Three months after they started dating, he started shopping for an engagement ring.
Dabice proposed to Fenner in front of their families in April of 2020
The proposal happened during the coronavirus pandemic, so Dabice arranged for the couples' loved ones to drive by his house with signs that said: "Will you marry me?"
He had Fenner wear a sweatshirt that said "queen" on it during the proposal as an added touch.
Fenner's children were in one of the cars that drove by, which meant a lot to her. She of course said yes to the proposal.
As the couple began planning their wedding, they struggled to think of a venue that would allow them to follow social-distancing guidelines. They also didn't want to just get married in their backyard, as they wanted the event to feel a bit more special.
One day, Dabice suggested they get married on the football field at Montclair State.
Fenner loved the idea. "It's perfect because it's a socially distanced environment, and it brings back so many memories," she said of the unique venue.
Dabice and Fenner were married on the same 50-yard line where they were crowned homecoming king and queen 28 years ago
The wedding took place on August 1, 2020, and Montclair State helped the couple pull off the event.
The community's police chief served as the officiant, and the school's mascot was even their ringbearer.
"Montclair State bent over backward for us," Fenner said, telling Insider they provided socially distanced seating for their few guests, handled the PA system, and arranged a luncheon for the couple after the ceremony.
The chief of police also declared that August 1 would be named Janet and Greg day in Montclair going forward, commemorating the couple's marriage.
"They were the most amazing wedding planners in the world," Fenner said of her school. "I couldn't be more proud to be a red hawk."
Fenner said she couldn't have imagined that she would fall in love with her homecoming king nearly 30 years after she graduated college.
"I would have never thought that he would have become the person that he is today based on who he was in college," she said.
"It's just so simple," she added of her relationship. "It's magical. It's just so easy to love him. It's so easy to be in his life. He's amazing."
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