Man Marries Best Friend of 34 Years After Life Changing Text During Divorce

The year was 1988 and it was 6-year-old Gillian Twining's first day at her new school. She'd always struggled to make friends, and coming from a private religious school, instantly found this new environment overwhelming.

That was, until recess when Twining spotted a kid playing with a Breyer horse next to a giant tree stump. Wearing a "horrible purple 80s dress" and using the roots to build a corral, Twining felt an instant connection.

"When you're six and on the spectrum, socialization and communication with neurotypicals make no sense," Twining told Newsweek. "It was like a light went on and I just knew I had found my person. We've been pretty much each other's ride or die since then."

Still, it would take more than three decades for Twining and Rexroad Lawrence to make the leap from friends to lovers. Their unique love story took over the internet this fall after Twining announced their engagement by tweet on October 21.

"I just texted my best friend of 32 years that he should finish divorcing his ex and just marry me," she wrote.

"He texted back OK.

"We talked. So... Now I'm engaged, probably with the record of the world's s******* proposal.

"I cannot describe how happy I am right now."

Although Twining put 32 years in her tweet, after redoing the math, the newly-engaged couple actually realized they'd actually been friends for 34 years.

During that time, Lawrence would marry and have a child with a man called James, as well as come out as transgender and begin his transition. Meanwhile, Twining launched her career as a writer, founding Wild Night Studios and adopted three cats—Chewie, Princess Leia and Sir Gawain.

After he came out 10 years ago, Lawrence and James separated. The decision was amicable, with the former couple still friends and co-parenting together. They put the divorce itself on the backburner due to costs.

Discovering his true self was a journey, but Twining was there to support Lawrence every step of the way.

"I was raised religious and very, very sheltered and I was in denial for such a long time," Lawrence told Newsweek. "When we were young kids we talked about how we could get married, but my mom just said girls can't marry girls and that's the end of it, and I just accepted that. I spent my whole life in denial and was trying for a heteronormative life, so I just repressed it."

It's taken a long time for Lawrence to leave behind the teachings of his childhood, but he no longer feels the need to conform. However, this road of self-discovery also uncovered his true feelings for Twining.

"I'm done trying to be anything but who I am," he said. "Part of that was untangling my denial about Gillian. I'd always scoff and say 'of course not' when people would ask if I was in love with her but it was partly fear...what if she didn't feel the same? What if my confession hurt our friendship? She means so much to me [and] I was terrified of losing her."

What Does It Mean If Someone Is Demisexual?

But Twining did feel the same way, even if she didn't know it yet. As a demisexual, Twining only feels an attraction to someone she has an emotional bond with—and there is no bond stronger than the one she shares with Lawrence.

"Hilariously enough, I didn't realize the kind of feelings I had were romantic until 30 seconds before I sent the proposal text," she said. "He's always been the one person I trust more than anything."

The text jokingly said: "You should finish divorcing your ex and just marry me." To Twining's delight, Lawrence immediately replied with: "OK."

Lawrence, a physical therapist assistant, was at work at the time. He was talking to a colleague about how he wanted to ask out Twining but didn't know how, when his phone buzzed.

"It was the proposal," he said. "I abruptly yelped 'Oh f***.'"

Twining shared the story of their engagement with Twitter, with the tweet receiving almost 24,000 likes.

"It was super weird when the tweet exploded. I thought it was funny, so I posted and wandered off. I came back and it had gone viral on both Twitter and Reddit," she said.

"But then people began telling us how it made them smile, or gave them hope, or helped their trans child know that there are absolutely people out there who will love them no matter what," she said. "Mostly it made me a little bit sad that people seem so starved for hope, and happy and honored that we could give it to so many of them."

Family Reaction To A Surprise Engagement

But what did Twining and Lawrence's families think of the proposal news?

"My mom said 'it's about f****** time.' My dad said 'it's about f****** time.' My siblings said the same thing," Twining said. "It was pretty funny if a bit repetitive."

Lawrence's family was also "overjoyed," particularly, his dad. His ex and son are also supportive of the match.

"[My dad] grabbed me by my shoulders, then my face, and gave me a gentle shake and said, 'It took you long enough!'" Lawrence said. "He later said all he ever wanted was for me to be happy, and he knows the bond Gillian and I have."

The couple hasn't set a date for the wedding yet, as Lawrence would like to finish his transition first and is currently fundraising for hormones and top surgery via their GoFundMe: Transition Rex Before the Wedding. Nevertheless, they have plenty of "great ideas" for their big day, including having Lawrence's son as best man and Twining's brother as their person of honor.

"I'm a cosplayer, and wedding dresses are boring, so I'm making my own," Twining said. "Heels are not my thing, so I might be investing in wedding combat boots or something. We also both still have our original Breyer horses from the day we met, so we decided they'll be our cake toppers and be so cute it'll make everyone vomit rainbows."

The couple hopes their relationship with help others in the LGBTQ community.

"Here we are, and it's amazing," Lawrence said. "Some people read our story and shared theirs with Gillian, and she shared with me, and I ended up crying on the side of the highway.

"I have to admit, I'm grateful, too, because hopefully, our tale will inspire others to come forward with their love stories."

Update 12/16/22, 10:18 a.m. ET: This article was updated to clarify that the couple had been friends for 34 years, not 32 as Twining said in her tweet.

Update 12/19/22, 04:24 a.m. ET: This article was updated to include the name of Lawrence's GoFundMe campaign.