A few breakups occurred over the years, but it was Mrs. Sanchez’s mother who encouraged her to stick with him. “We were at different points in our lives: He was five years older than me, but he was very patient for me to catch up,” she said. “My mom told me, ‘This is your person. You should spend the rest of your life with him.’ So we got back together.”

In 2007 he was back in Japan for another tour. This time Mrs. Sanchez traveled with him. At 5 a.m., in the couple’s hotel room, Mr. Sanchez proposed.

“He woke me up and said, ‘Marry me.’ He had this ring in his hand I’d never seen. We both had jet lag and were so tired. I said ‘Yes,’ and then we went back to sleep,” she said.

Mrs. Sanchez still has the Styrofoam cup with his number on it.

What They’ve Learned

Mrs. Sanchez The same way having a child has made me a better person, so has Claudio. He’s very grounding. He’s always on time and has planned things in advanced, which has not been my strong suit. I’ve worked at being better in that area. I’m showing up for him. That has made us meet in the middle. I don’t think shifting things about yourself to accommodate another person is a bad thing.

I’ve learned fighting is good. I never saw my parents fight, even though they’re divorced. I thought any disagreement was bad or if we didn’t see eye to eye that meant we didn’t have a good marriage. I’ve learned that’s not true. We have a great marriage. And it’s O.K. to fight. We get it out and it doesn’t fester. Being able to say, ‘I don’t like that, we should do this,’ is very healthy. I’m a super passive person so this was a revelation. He’s become a fierce fighter for our family and our son. He shows up for us. He’s loyal. We’ve decided to jump into this creative lifestyle together. We embrace what’s not ordinary. We both write together, and I travel with him while he’s on tour. Living on a bus with 12 people it’s easy to feel like you’re getting too much of each other, but that never happens to us.