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Autistic husband, wife in Denton County enjoy wedded life

In this photo, Sam Dudley, left, and his wife Sage discuss how they met for the first time, while at Argyle Middle School, where Sage’s mother works, in Roanoke, Texas. They have been married for a few years and both have autism.

In this photo, Sam Dudley, right, hold hands with his wife Sage Dudley at Argyle Middle School.

ARGYLE, Texas (AP) — Two weeks passed far too soon for a young couple in uncharted territory.

The Denton Record-Chronicle reports Sam Dudley, who was 21 in 2010, was living with his mother in Mitcheldean, England, at the time. She paid for his board and other necessities, so Sam had a good sum of money in his savings account when he decided to close the nearly 5,000 miles between him and the voice in Argyle he grew so used to hearing through his headphones.

Having only chatted online through YouTube and Skype calls, it was surreal for him to hear the voice and see the face of then-19-year-old Sage Mehaffey when he arrived in Argyle. When Sage first saw Sam in person, she couldn’t believe how tall he was.

For two weeks, they went on adventures together. They ate together. They goofed off together. They enjoyed the small things together.

Three days before Sam had to return to England, he and Sage were relaxing at her grandmother’s house. Sage sneaked behind Sam and tapped his shoulder.

“What is it, Sage?” Sam asked.

“I love you,” she said.

Somebody actually had said those three words to him for the first time. He was stunned. How weird it was to hear somebody genuinely say that to him, he thought.

Sam reached for a straw hat he brought along for his vacation.

“Could you hang onto this for when I get back so I can give you a ring instead?” he asked.

She said, “Yes.”

Sage, now 26, and Sam, now 28, are a lot alike. They enjoy the same TV shows, love surfing the internet and both have autism. Sage also is legally blind with no peripheral vision.

They’ve been married for six years now, and said they had never before experienced anything like what they have now, being each other’s first significant other.

“I, for one, knew that there was some kind of connection, because I felt good around this person. I knew I wanted to hang out with her more. I never even thought I would spend the rest of my life together with her,” Sam said. “I just felt good talking with her.”

In 2008, Sam was in the third season of the web series he voice acted for on YouTube when his cast decided they needed more female voice talent. That’s when one his friends online recommended a girl named Sage, which would be the beginning of two years of chatting each day.

Outwardly, they learned they could talk for hours about their many mutual interests. They also recognize their inward similarities, like their autism, unite them and don’t think they’d be together if they had not taken that leap of faith.

It would be six months after Sam’s 2010 summer vacation to the U.S. until he returned in December. Sage recalls a tough time coping with the distance after being smitten by Sam.

“It was rough,” Sage said. “I knew that long-distance relationships were a thing for some people, but I was just kind of worried that a long-distance relationship wouldn’t really work out.”

She spotted Sam when he landed from his flight that December and immediately leaped to embrace him.

Sam stayed with Sage and her family that winter. Sage’s father, Kerry Mehaffey, took the two to a Johnny Carino’s restaurant for dinner one night when Sam fished out what he promised six months before from his pocket.

Stori Mehaffey, a counselor at Argyle Middle School and Sage’s mother, remembers checking on Sage one evening. She opened the door to her room only to hear some man’s deep voice on the other end of the line.

Startled, she told her daughter to end the conversation, saying she had no idea whether this man was a “creep” or not.

Sam also had written an online journal full of his favorite memories with Sage in their first two weeks together, something that was originally off-putting to Stori.

Stori and Kerry Mehaffey raised Sage in Argyle so she could attend the relatively small school district there. Over the years, she recalls accepting that her daughter, with her autism and impaired vision, might never get married.

But their bond became increasingly undeniable as Sam and Sage continued to spend time together.

“It wasn’t something we ever dreamed for her. Not that we didn’t wish for it, but because of her autism and her legal blindness, we just never saw her having that,” Stori Mehaffey said. “We feel like God sent Sammie to us.”

Sage isn’t able to drive because of her vision, but Sam’s the one who takes them where they need to go in their car. He’s also non-confrontational by nature but has Sage to do the bulk of the talking when needed.

“We say Sammie is her eyes, and Sage is his mouth.” Stori Mehaffey said. “Sam’s normally not a confrontational person, so Sage will be the talker. They’ll come in holding hands and she’ll be the one saying, ‘We need to talk.’ “

Sam and Sage had to wait for six months before they officially could get married, which they did on June 4, 2011. Law stipulated he had to stay in the U.S. for that amount of time before he could be granted permanent residency.

But wait they did. Sam’s parents were concerned their son was choosing to upend his life in England for one with Sage in Argyle, but they were supportive through the entire process. He always dreamed of coming to the U.S. It worked out that Sage was someone he grew comfortable with over time and who he could experience the new country with for the first time.

As their wedding approached, Stori Mehaffey remembers rehearsing their wedding dinner when Sam started to sing to Sage. The song, “Unintended” by the English rock band Muse, serves as the perfect expression of a fantastical, unintentional love story for Sam. Tears fell from everybody in the room.

Looking forward, Sage and Sam’s vision for their future together is a quaint one. Having grown up in a rural town, Sam was never one for a busy life in the big city. The couple, who live with her parents in Argyle, intend to live in a house together in the same neighborhood.

When asked what the two love most about each other, the couple held each other’s hand, gently caressing each other.

“You have this way of bringing light to any situation, no matter how dark it may be,” Sam said to Sage. “Even though some people may find these things between us cliche, I find them to be true.”

Sage paused, then spoke carefully.

“I honestly really appreciate Sam’s personality,” she said. “His huge heart to want to help other people instead of himself.”

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