The odd couple
Middle school sweethearts from rival towns get past differences for a lasting love connection
Do opposites really attract? Anyone who knows newlyweds Olivia Westerman and Tyler Dixon would answer, “yes.” Including Olivia and Tyler, who started out as adversaries.
“We met when we were 11 years old and lived in rival cities, Port Neches and Nederland,” Olivia said. “Bum Phillips coached at both of our high schools back in the day, and it started this huge rivalry between our two towns.”
When he first caught sight of Olivia and a friend swimming in a pool one summer, the little bit of friendly competition didn’t matter. He tapped his buddy and said, “Hey, those girls are cute.”
“We had a few attempts at relationships,” he said, chuckling at their young on-again, off-again flirtation.
In the days before unlimited text messaging, they exchanged email or chatted on AOL Instant Messenger. “When we were sophomores, I’d ride my bike a few blocks to where her mom worked and visit. We went out to dinner for a couple months, and then went our separate ways. We were just two 15-year-old kids.”
After graduation, Tyler stayed close to home and attended Lamar University. Olivia moved to Huntsville for Sam Houston State University and later Nebraska, where she was a teacher for a year but found that it wasn’t for her.
“The day I moved back to Texas we grabbed a bite to eat and have been inseparable ever since,” she said. “We both left that meal knowing each other was ‘it.’ ”
Their pairing felt natural, if not surprising. Tyler was the guy she’d known her entire life, and everything Olivia thought she didn’t want. “His personality is so different from mine. He runs a budget, and he sticks to that budget. He’s very levelheaded and sticks to his guns, whereas if I’m feeling something, then I have to do it.”
And Tyler’s OK with that. “She’s the fun side, and I’m … the not-fun side. But we kind of balance each other, and that’s what drew us together. She saw that I was a little more mature than some of the people from our hometown and had a good head on my shoulders. And she’s made me experience aspects of life that I would not have if not for her.”
In 2014, a month into their courtship, Olivia leased an apartment in Houston proper. Tyler helped her move and seized the opportunity to woo her — “big city style” — with tickets to a Theatre Under The Stars production of the “Little Mermaid” at the Hobby Center for Performing Arts.
“Being from the Beaumont area, we don’t go to performances or the ballet unless it’s for your little sister,” he said of their fancy night out.
After that, Olivia made it her mission to lure Tyler into urban life. Not an easy feat, though one she took very seriously.
“He’s very small town,” she said. “He likes to drive his truck, and I think at first he was kind of shell-shocked. But I wanted to show him a different side of life beyond just sitting in your garage and watching football games.”
Instead, they rooted for the Texans at NRG Stadium. Tyler, project-controls manager for ISC Contractors, bought season tickets, and the following year, his girlfriend, a business-development specialist for Athena Oilfield Services and an instructor at Method Pilates, joined the Texans as a cheerleader, supporting the team from 2016-18.
The couple, now each 27, also spent time in Midtown, experiencing what Tyler describes as the normal 20s scene. On weekends, Olivia said that taking their pets — her Border Collie, his German Shepherd — to the dog park and then to brunch is a routine that became their religion.
Later, the lovebirds moved to the Heights and often took romantic trips to Galveston.
That’s where Tyler wanted to propose, at the Tremont House’s iconic rooftop bar. But his plan to pop the question was shot when a last-minute Texans cheerleaders meeting got in the way of his scheme. So he phoned Olivia’s future maid of honor, and they concocted an elaborate ruse.
“He tricked me,” Olivia said. “He told me I wasn’t spending enough time with my best friend, so he set up a spa day for us at the Hilton Americas downtown. She opened the door to the pool area, and Tyler popped out from behind a pillar. There were roses everywhere, and I thought the proposal was for someone else.”
But the setup and custom diamond ring in Tyler’s hand were for Olivia. He’d spent an extra six months saving up for the Nazar’s Fine Jewelery design after she changed her preference from oval to pear shape.
“When Tyler asked me to be his girlfriend, he wrote, ‘Do you want to be my girlfriend? Circle yes or no’ on a Whataburger napkin,” Olivia said. “I never circled it because I wanted to keep it as a keepsake and have it framed. I honestly don’t remember anything he said (during the proposal) because he’d brought that napkin, scratched out ‘girlfriend’ and wrote ‘wife.’ ”
The bethrothed duo basked in their engagement glow for a month before jumping into wedding mode. Originally, they considered a traditional Catholic ceremony near their hometowns. Then Olivia fell in love with the Farmhouse in Montgomery, a rustic venue with a huge white barn and chapel. But there was a two-year waiting list, and Tyler worried they couldn’t afford it.
“At 5 o’clock, I got a call about a cancellation in August. I said, ‘Give me until 8 o’oclock,’ ” Olivia recalled. “I had my caterer, florist, photographer and videographer booked in those three hours. I texted friends from college and people I’d met at the Bridal Extravaganza: ‘I’d love to use you, but I kind of need to know right now.’ ”
Meanwhile, Tyler opened a spreadsheet and crunched some numbers. “I was trying to be logical and at the same time be heartfelt. I just wanted to make sure that our family members who wanted to be there could be there.”
On Aug. 10, the night of their rehearsal dinner, wedding guests toasted the bride and groom at La Torretta Lake Resort & Spa before singing karaoke all night at a club inside the hotel.
“I woke up, did Pilates and ran before my wedding,” said Olivia, a self-prescribed workout fiend. “I was very calm. So calm that I was walking around asking my wedding coordinators, ‘Do y’all need me to help you?’ while my bridesmaids were getting their hair and makeup done.”
Tyler knew his bride was stressed about fitting into her dress. The couple opted to cut off all communication the night before. They wanted the first time they saw each other to be special. So Tyler asked every person he came across how Olivia was doing.
“She bought that dress a week after we got engaged. I thought she was crazy,” he said. “But seeing her in it was my favorite moment; she looked absolutely gorgeous. I had a hard time holding it together throughout the whole ceremony — I didn’t break down, but it was hard.”
Olivia’s father walked her down the aisle. The closer she got to Tyler, the more emotional she became. And after her father gave her away, Olivia instinctively reached for Tyler — she just couldn’t resist.
Tyler vowed to a life of adventure with Olivia as much as their bank account would allow. Olivia vowed to trust Tyler with anything concerning their budget.
Then, after 15 years of dating, living in different cities and writing proposals on napkins, they were pronounced “husband and wife.”
The reception décor was selected to match Olivia’s personality. Her colors were ombre reds and pink with pops of Dalmatian print and pineapples.
“Tyler and I love the comedian Kevin Hart, and part of his standup is this safe word, ‘pineapples,’ ” she said. “When Tyler and I disagree on something, one of us will say ‘pineapples,’ so we had white and gold pineapples scattered everywhere.”
There weren’t any lovers’ quarrels on the big day, though Tyler made sure to steal an intimate moment with his bride. “She needed a breather, and I wanted to really reflect on the evening. Obviously we weren’t there just to party, but to be together as one.”
Olivia says things have changed now that they’re married. “When we laugh it’s weird, it’s like we laugh deeper in our bellies. And when we talk, it’s a language that just we use.”
Maybe they’re not so different after all.