CINCINNATI — Michael Ginn holds his fiancée’s hand. Then, he hugs her. They’re standing on the side of a busy street in Cheviot.
“This is where our love story began,” he said.
It's a story that starts with tragedy. But without it, the couple might have never gotten to where they are now. Because when they met, Amy Hayden had her guard up. She’d just gotten out of an abusive relationship, and she wasn’t looking for love.
“Don’t get no ideas,” she told Ginn the first time they met. “We’re just friends.”
Ginn didn’t care. He was lonely. And depressed. He needed someone to talk to.
“That was a very rough time for me,” he said. “I didn’t know what to do.”
WATCH: A Cincinnati couple recounts the tragic events that led to their engagement
Ginn’s wife had gotten sick and died. A cab driver introduced him to Hayden because they both loved wrestling. But it seemed like he’d be stuck in the friend zone forever.
He told her he loved her once. She didn’t say it back.
Then, they were walking near a thrift shop one day on the city's west side. They tried to cross the street, and a truck hit them. Hayden’s phone flew out of her hand. On the ground, it played a Luke Bryan song.
They both remember that. Because it's a moment that changed their lives forever.
Hayden still wears an ankle brace, and she needed physical therapy. Today, she prefers to cross the street with people standing on both sides of her.
“She likes the bubble effect,” Ginn said with a laugh.
“I feel safer that way,” she said.
The crash scared them. But it also reminded them not to take anything for granted. Ginn proposed a few months later. Hayden said yes.
And standing near that busy intersection this week, Hayden and Ginn point to where it happened. She wasn’t sure she wanted to come here, but Ginn encouraged her.
"Maybe we can conquer it," he said.
This time, in front of the thrift shop, they hold their hands together in the shape of a heart. Then, they hug.
