I had the privilege of talking to Kim and Krickett Carpenter last week. They are an amazing couple and I ended the interview feeling blessed to talk with them. I saw The Vow last Wednesday night, and I loved it! If you haven’t seen it yet, please make the time to do so soon.
Me: I have to tell you we were all laughing, crying and cheering you two on! Your story had us from the very beginning. I didn’t know that you never regained your memory Krickett, and I was left wanting more at the end. I wanted to see you two fall in love all over again!
Carpenters: Well thank you very much! We’ve been hearing that a lot, and have to tell you that the movie leads you right to “The Vow: The True Events that Inspired the Movie
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Me: How old were you when you met?
Carpenters: Kim was 27 and Krickett was 23
Me: I read somewhere that your shared faith helped you two get back together again. Can you tell me about it? Was that a faith in love, each other, or the Lord? The movie didn’t really touch on it.
Carpenters: Our real strength and faith is in the Lord. It came from two sets of parents who have over 100 years of anniversaries combined, and a very devout faith.
Me: I have to admit that I was angry with your parents, Krickett, and how they were treating you, but your mothers vulnerability when she said she remembered all of the good and forgave the one mistake, that was so great.
Carpenters: That never happened. The affair never happened. That was something that Hollywood added in, along with portraying me as being alone in all of it, and the divorce. I (Kim) was not alone, I actually have a twin and wonderful parents. We never divorced. At one point, Krickett was living with her parents and rehabbing, and I did move back in with my parents to regain some sense of normalcy, but we were never apart for more than four days. I would fly back and help her rehab. At one point I felt that it was not going to work, but I wasn’t going to leave until I knew Krickett was capable of taking care of herself and could look me in the face and tell me to go. It took a counselor to help us understand the aspect that Krickett had no memory of me.
Me: How did you find your way back to love?
Carpenters: On Valentines day 1996 I asked Krickett to remarry me, and on May 25th we rededicated our marriage. We took vows and made a commitment before God until death do us part. The institution of marriage is different for some now, as in the death of the marriage. Lack of commitment has created instability. It used to be death do us part as in the death of your soul mate.
Me: Tell me about your kids. What do they think of your story?
Carpenters: They are a real blessing, and it’s a great life lesson for them. We are more excited about having them witness this and experience it first hand. We kept our vow and our word. It’s a priceless lesson.
Our main prayer in this is to inspire lives and lead people to do the right thing. A place where families can grow and flourish. We had the opportunity to persevere and it was a matter of obedience to Christ. The media tried to portray me (Kim) as a hero,but I’m not. I made a vow and kept it. We are in a normal marriage where there are challenges and it takes work.
We are so happy with Channing and Rachel. They studied us and watched us in interviews. There are some things that are just dead on in the movie, and the movie will lead you to the “The Vow: The True Events that Inspired the Movie ”
My time with Kim and Krickett was too short, and I can’t wait to download the book and read more about them. I hope you will too.
