The start of their relationship was right out of a fairy tale.

Bob Severns had ridden his bike in circles for hours around the city’s waterfront, hoping to spot a woman he barely knew yet had become smitten with.

Then instead of looking around to catch her on her daily run, he looked up, and there she was, standing on the balcony of her downtown condominium.

Rhonda Severns loves to re-tell the story.

“He said, ‘I finally found you! I’ve been looking for you all day. May I please have your number?’”

That day in 2001 essentially is how the first couple of Oak Harbor began.

The memory brings endearing smiles to the faces of Bob and Rhonda Severns, who after 15 years together still find it difficult to be apart.

Long before Bob Severns became Oak Harbor’s mayor this year, Rhonda has been his constant companion. Whether it was a city council meeting, Rotary meeting, the campaign trail, or even a hunting trip, chances are they were together.

“We do not like to be away from each other still to this moment,” Bob said.

For a Valentine’s Day gift, the couple treated each other with Apple watches, the watch equivalent of a smart phone.

They come in handy for the Severns’ regular exercise routine along Oak Harbor’s waterfront paths as the watches monitor heart rates and calculate other health benefits.

It’s common to see the couple walking hand in hand.

“He’s the love of my life,” Rhonda said.

Both feel lucky to have found what they consider to be that rare combination of true love and a best friend.

They have the same interests of healthy eating, physical fitness, the outdoors and politics and share the same core values of family and community service.

Each was driven to be successful in their careers — Bob, an owner of a title company, and Rhonda as a City of Oak Harbor employee. Both are retired from those careers yet remain dedicated to the community with Bob’s role as mayor.

“She’s my confidante,” Bob said. “She’s one of the best sounding boards you could have. Especially with her history in the city. It’s become helpful on many occasions.”

Still, they seemed an unlikely match at first, considering their roots. Bob cherished the rural life of his upbringing on a horse farm in Chehalis and enjoyed living on the open expanse of acreage.

Rhonda was a career woman raised in Oak Harbor who owned her own condo near the waterfront.

Yet, the cowboy ultimately fell hard for the small-town, career-driven girl and conformed to city life, albeit a small city at that.

He eventually bought the condo above Rhonda’s so they could be closer from the get-go.

“I think it’s really obvious when you meet two people who absolutely adore each other,” said Christine Cribb, a close friend of the Severns.

“These are two people who absolutely adore each other.”

Yet neither from the start seemed to be in too great of a hurry for marriage.

Both had been through failed marriages before, had their own children and were cautious to make that sort of big formal step again.

A mutual friend introduced the two. And though Bob asked for Rhonda’s phone number on that occasion, Rhonda was reluctant to provide it.

Days later during that chat from the balcony, Rhonda caved in.

“She wasn’t real excited about it,” Bob said. “So I called her. I asked if I could just somehow get a little time with her. She didn’t know me from Adam.”

A dinner at a seafood restaurant in Anacortes gave Bob the chance he had wished for and set in motion the start of a special relationship.

What sealed the deal, according to Rhonda, was the bond family members have for each other. Rhonda and Bob each have two children through previous marriages and together they have two grandchildren.

“Our families love each other,” Rhonda said. “Normally when you go from a broken marriage you don’t have that kind of relationship. My kids were like, he’s just like a dad to me. When our kids sealed the deal, we were good to go.”

The Severns made a surprise visit to Rhonda’s parents in Las Vegas in 2009 to make a formal announcement. But Bob had to take care of one important matter first.

He needed to talk to Ron Haines, Rhonda’s father who has since passed away.

“He asked Ron if he could marry Rhonda,” said Donna Strehle, Rhonda’s mom. “That’s such an old-fashioned thing. He got permission.”

Donna Strehle said she couldn’t have asked for a better son-in-law.

“He’s just fantastic,” she said.

The couple has endured struggles in the family. They’ve also lost loved ones in recent years, including Bob’s mother Eileen.

They’ve gone through the trying times together and been there for each other.

“He’s a wonderful husband,” Rhonda said. “If he treats the people at city hall the way he treats me, it’s a happy place to work.”

“Thank you, sweetie,” Bob said.

“She’s my valentine,” Bob added. “She’s been my valentine since the day I met her.”