Real Life Love Story: Dr.s Alesha and Josh Baker

Do you believe in love at first sight?  Are soul mates real?  Many people are perplexed by the mysteries of love, but for Dr. Josh and Dr. Alesha Baker, there is no question.

“I remember the first time I ever saw her,” said Josh.  “We were in 5th hour, Sophomore English in high school, and in walks this beautiful thing.”  Josh turned to his friend and said, “You see that girl right there?  I’m going to date her.”  He knew in his mind and heart at that moment that she was the person he would spend the rest of his life with.  His friend told him he didn’t have a chance with her.  Josh introduced himself, and without a word, Alesha turned around and walked away.

At the time, Alesha was dating someone else, but the heart wants what it wants. Josh never gave up hope.  The two maintained orbit around one another and had many of the same friends.  Josh recalls hanging out together at the homecoming parade and that she was cold.  “I gave her my Colorado Rockies starter jacket to wear,” he said.  “When I got it back, it had her perfume all over it, and to this day, it is my favorite perfume.”

Alesha had noticed Josh, but the timing wasn’t quite right, as she had a boyfriend.  On Valentine’s Day, she remembers that Josh had given all of the other girls in their group of friends a small gift but did not give her one, and she felt a sense of jealousy.  “He did give me a hug, which was our first hug, and that really was the first time I felt something,” she said.  “We started talking after that, and 2 or 3 weeks later, we started dating.”

On their first date, when Josh arrived to pick Alesha up, her father, a police detective, met him at the door in uniform.  “He asked for my driver’s license and ran all my information,” said Josh.  “Good thing all of my speeding tickets were in another town.”  The couple recalls seeing a movie that night, Wayne’s World, and holding hands for the first time.

They stayed together with a few breakups through high school and college.  During their last break up, their Freshman year in college, Josh decided he was going to date someone else.  “When she found out, Alesha said that wasn’t happening,” Josh laughed.  “We were so young, and I wanted to make sure that what I was feeling was real,” said Alesha. “After we got back together, it’s been full steam ahead,” said Josh.  Once they were reunited, Josh proposed, and they were married a year and a half later.

Twenty-four years later, and Josh and Alesha are just as much in love as when they were kids.  Together, they have accomplished much and push each other in gentle competition while being one another’s biggest cheerleaders.  For ten years, they battled infertility but now have two beautiful daughters.  They’ve grown together through financial hardships early in their marriage, to having successful careers in education.  When Alesha went back to school to receive her Ph.D. in Educational Technology, Josh decided he would get his Ph.D. as well, in Mathematics Education.  “I didn’t want to be introduced as Dr. and Mr. Baker,” said Josh.  “Even in high school, there was competition with our grades,” said Alesha.  “It makes us try to be better, and it lifts us up,”  Alesha says that Josh always makes her laugh, and that’s one of the things she loves the most about him.

For the Bakers, love at first sight is real, and they are one another’s soul mate.  “Everybody is on their own path, and they have their own story.  This is just ours,” said Josh.  “It’s worked for us, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”