POWER COUPLES

Of The Hamptons

The East End is where heavy hitters from all fields come to work and play. And sometimes they come together! These dynamic duos from the worlds of real estate, fashion, media, and art have captured our attention with their style, talent, and influence. Spotlight presents our picks for those special couples that bring a certain sparkle to town that my son really preferred football to tennis, which I knew! I didn’t see Kyle again for months but ended up taking tennis lessons from him myself later—and the rest is history. You both are killing it right now between your bookstore launch, Zibby, and Kyle’s film, Wildflower, being acquired by Momentum Pictures [available on Hulu this month]. What’s the key to balancing out each other with so much happening?

Kyle and Zibby Owens

Founder and CEO, Morning Moon Productions / Author and Podcast Host

Some say the Hamptons is a great place to meet your partner!

Zibby Owens: We met on a tennis court in the Hamptons,

John Wattiker and Malcolm Carfrae

Group Executive Director, Luxury, Hearst / Principal and Founder, Carfrae Consulting and that’s really where we ended up falling in love. We even got married in the Hamptons beside a tennis court with the party on the court itself!

Where did you two meet?

Malcolm Carfrae: We met at a hotel bar in New York City in 2010. The barman inadvertently swapped our checks. John asked for my business card and e-mailed me the next day to ask for a date. We laugh that it’s like the first scene of a Nancy Meyers movie.

Malcolm, you’re originally from Australia. What made you and John decide to purchase a home Out East?

How’d the meet-cute happen?

Owens: I first met Kyle when he was filling in for a colleague’s tennis lesson and taught my son. Well, he started teaching my son a lesson until a few minutes later when he called me onto the court and let me know

Owens: We’re both interested in each other’s work! He gives feedback on our book covers for Zibby Books. I read script submissions for Morning Moon Productions and celebrated the release of Wildflower like it was my own! We’re just really collaborative.

What would you say is your favorite love story?

Owens: The one in You’ve Got Mail

Go-to couples activity?

Owens: We love going on TV together to recommend books, even if Kyle hasn’t read them.

Carfrae: I have spent weekends Out East every summer weekend since I arrived in the U.S. in 2003. It was my happy place, and it became our happy place when we started dating. We also held our wedding weekend there in 2014. Four years ago, we bought our dream house in Amagansett. Now it feels like our home. You both work in media. Have you ever thought about working together?

Carfrae: We both love our work and support each other’s careers, but doing different things is healthy and keeps it balanced. We’re grateful to be able to bounce things off each other. But who knows, maybe at some point down the road those paths will converge even more than they already do naturally. Anything is possible!

Crystal and Jarret Willis

Co-owner, Blue One / Co-owner, Blue One + Real Estate Agent, The Corcoran Group

How and where did you meet?

Crystal Willis: We met at a bar 23 years ago while I was attending college upstate, studying PR and playing volleyball. Jarret was working in NYC at the time and was there visiting his parents. What’s your favorite part of running Blue One together?

Crystal: Being together is the best part. We have so many laughs! Being able to be creative together and collaborating on ideas and seeking out new designers has been fun. We’re a force to be reckoned with.

What’s new at the store?

Crystal: We rearranged the store to have a better flow and shopping experience. We also have some fun events lined up, including a pop-up with a finejewelry designer from L.A.

What’s your favorite quality about each other?

Crystal: Jarret has such a big presence in the store. His laugh, humor, and wittiness are unreal. Customers come to him with all sorts of personal problems along with style inquiries. He is Mr. Hamptons!

Jarret Willis: Crystal is an incredibly strong, talented, and compassionate person.

I respect her work ethic and ability to balance being a wife and mother. In short, she makes me a better husband, father, and person. I adore her.

Sarah and Andrew Wetenhall

Joey Wölffer and Max Rohn

Co-owner, Wölffer Estate Vineyard / CEO and GM, Wölffer Estate Vineyard Where did you two meet?

Joey Wölffer: On the platform at Jamaica station taking the train to the Hamptons. I knew it after the train ride when I met him [that he was the one]. I felt crazy butterflies, but I could also tell he was everything I was looking for without even knowing it. Wedding date?

Joey: June 18, 2011.

Favorite quality about each other?

Joey on Max: I love how Max is the calm to my fire. I love how he’s constantly evolving into the amazing human he is as a professional, as a dad, and in his hobby [photography].

Max on Joey: Life is just better with her in the room. I have never not looked forward to seeing her walk in! Describe working together.

Joey: We balance each other out and try our best not to step on each other’s toes!

Most underrated place to meet someone Out East?

Joey: Public transportation!

MORE POWER COUPLES TO WATCH!

O’BRECHT

MIREYA + JOSEPH D’ANGELO

DON LEMON + TIM MALONE

STEPHANIE + BRETT GOTTLIEB

JENNIFER LOPEZ + BEN AFFLECK

CAMILLE FISHEL + MICHAEL RUBIN

ALEX + MICHAEL TOCCIN

SULEIMA ARRUDA + NEIL SADICK

President, CEO, and Co-owner, The Colony Palm Beach / Managing Director, Morgan Stanley + Coowner, The Colony Palm Beach

You met as students at Vanderbilt University. Did you think you’d end up with your college sweetheart?

Sarah Wetenhall: No, I wouldn’t say that was ever a thought that crossed my mind. It wasn’t necessarily love at first sight when we met during freshman year; in fact, it was closer to a case of opposites attract. After our social circles crossed during sophomore year, we became friends, and ended up dating the summer after junior year. You and Andrew acquired The Colony Hotel in 2016. Did you have any reservations about working together?

Sarah: Of course we did! However, we went into this business venture with our eyes open. Thankfully, we’ve known each other so long that we understand each other’s strengths and weaknesses. Andrew, favorite qualities about Sarah?

Andrew Wetenhall: When I think of Sarah, I think of her charm, kindness, tenacity, astuteness, and intuition. Most memorable summer memory together?

Andrew: Enjoying bonfires at Georgica Beach with our family and close friends, making s’mores until it gets dark.

Eric Von Stroh and Sophie Elgort

Partner, Long Point Capital / Photographer

You’ve been married since 2014! Why did you get married in the Hamptons?

Eric Von Stroh: Sophie’s parents got married at the same house back in the 1980s, so it was always where she pictured getting married. Arthur [Elgort, Sophie’s father] likes to remind us that they had 25 people, whereas we had almost 200!

How did you meet? First date?

Sophie Elgort: We were set up by Eric’s second cousin Marion, a close friend of mine from college. We were all living in New York, and she happened to have brunch with me and dinner with Eric on the same day. She realized then that we had a lot in common and introduced us on an e-mail. We had our first date at Casa Mono in January 2012.

Favorite wedding memory?

Von Stroh: Sophie’s mom, Grethe, surprised us by singing with the band to the tune of Fiddler on the Roof’s “Sunrise, Sunset,” but instead she made the words, “Elgort, Von Stroh.” She put cards under all the plates so that people could join in and sing the words to the chorus. She had taken voice lessons practicing in secret for months before!

Fun fact about you as a couple?

Elgort: We’re both ski racers!

Kim Ross and Danny Sillman

Founder and CEO, ORA / CEO, Relevent Sports

Blair and Margit Brandt

CEO, Brandt Group / Senior Luxury Real Estate Advisor, Premier Estate Properties

When, how, and where did you two meet?

Margit Brandt: In a room in Midtown Manhattan, in February 2014, when Blair was interviewing me to work at a company he owned and operated. I declined the job opportunity, at the time, but later agreed to go on a date with Blair. You’re spending time Out East this summer. What are you looking forward to?

Margit: We’re just here to have a good time and see friends! It’s a great place for us to spend quality family time, decompress, and relax away from our home market of Palm Beach, where things can often be pretty nonstop for us from September through May. What’s the best and most challenging part about working together?

Blair Brandt: The best part is that we have each other’s back in the special way that only family might have. The most challenging part is that we often are in tune with what each other has been up to throughout the day, so it’s sometimes hard to create that daily separation that benefits many couples who go to different places of work. But at the end of the day, it’s a family business and we wouldn’t have it any other way.

Kim, what’s your take on dating in NYC versus the Hamptons?

Kim Ross: It can definitely be a challenge. But you just have to trust the process and know that ultimately what is meant for you will come with time.

What part of the Hamptons do you spend the most time in?

Ross: Southampton, but we love

Jeffrey Goldmuntz and Michael Lorber

Director Merchandising, Men’s, Christian Dior Couture / Real Estate Broker, Douglas Elliman going to Sag Harbor, too! The town has the best ice cream place. We love bringing our daughter. Your No. 1 tip for dealing with stressful moments in relationships?

How did you two meet?

Michael Lorber: We were set up by our friend Billy Gilbane. We started chatting in February 2020, but due to the pandemic, our first date at Le Bilboquet was not until August. You opted for an intimate Miami wedding. What sparked this decision?

Lorber: We had a large engagement celebration in the Hamptons last summer, so we wanted just our immediate family to watch us get married. Both our families spent the weekend in Miami and the 15 of us did a small ceremony at my dad’s house, followed by dinner. The next day, we sent out a Paperless Post to our friends telling them we got married and to save the date for our wedding celebration in New York City on April 29th.

Tell us about your Water Mill digs.

Lorber: After six years in Sag Harbor, we moved to Water Mill. We wanted to be close to the beach and have a large yard for our dog, River. This was the first home we designed together with our designer, Nick Olsen. We are very traditional and love navy blue; the house represents both of us.

Ross: People say don’t go to bed angry. I say go to bed angry and revisit in the morning. Usually, a good night’s sleep helps things.

Editor-in-Chief

Sydney Sadick Is Getting Married

Meet her fiancé, Nick Adams, co-founder and managing partner at Differential Ventures

When you first matched with Sydney on Bumble, did you know who she was from Instagram or TV? No, but I can be an alien when it comes to these things. I constantly ask her “which one is that?” when she’s watching the Kardashians. On the flip side, she thought my profile was fake! When did you realize Sydney was the one? Right away I knew she was different and that there was something unique between us. What are your favorite qualities about her? She’s the best person I’ve ever known. Everything she does is so sincere.

What’s one thing Sydney does that makes you smile? She talks to me like a Muppet frequently. It kind of makes me feel like I’m about 4 years old, but I can’t help but smile when she does it. What’s next?

The wedding! A lot of planning happened right away and then there’s a lull before the big day. We both want good health, a loving family, rewarding careers, and lots of fun along the way! T

Edgy cat-eye recycled-acetate sunglasses, $415, net-a-porter.com