How Tim And Gwen Walz Met And Fell In Love

Tim and Gwen Walz's love story is enough to warm even the iciest of hearts. The two first met as high school teachers in Nebraska; Tim taught geography, while Gwen taught English. But the pair didn't fall head over heels straight away. In fact, it was actually the Minnesota first lady's sister who pointed out the future governor. As Gwen shared on "Next Question with Katie Couric," her sister insisted, "I saw him teach, and I'm going to tell you, he's the best teacher I've ever seen. I think you should meet him." 

Tim and Gwen crossed paths eventually — and by necessity. Working in a resource-strapped state school, the pair had to share a divided choir room to teach their classes. Soon enough, they were on their first date. "He asked if he could kiss me goodnight and I said no, that I don't ever kiss on a first date; English teachers have policies," she recalled. Tim, confused but obliging, replied, "Well, all right then because I'm gonna marry you. Now get out of my car!" 

He didn't call for three days — a frustration that many people can probably relate to — but they ultimately married in 1994. "Sharing that classroom with him and what I saw from his coaching too, I knew that we shared a vision of how we saw school," Gwen said. "I still say the most fun days are the days you're in school." This rom-com-worthy romance gets an A+ from us.

Meeting the love of his life wasn't the only perk of the job for Tim Walz. Kamala Harris' running mate once revealed that it was, in fact, students who inspired him to run for office. Walz described taking two students to hear President George W. Bush in Minnesota in 2004. They were denied entry because the students had volunteered for the Democratic Party. "I was struck by how deeply divided our country was becoming that a veteran & a group of high schoolers would be turned away at the door," he said. "It was at this moment that I decided to run for office" (via X, formerly known as Twitter). 

Two years later, Walz was elected to Congress and would go on to become governor of Minnesota. "I think about the next generation of leaders who are stepping up to meet this moment," he mused in the same X thread. "Don't wait for your moment, take it. You may just be governor someday."

It wasn't until Walz was chosen as Harris' running mate in the 2024 presidential election that one of these aforementioned students told their side of the story. Speaking to Deadline, Matt Klaber — now a London-based software engineer — spoke highly of his former teacher. "He is absolutely genuine, he is a happy warrior, passionate and here to help others make things better," he said. "He's not there to win the game, he's there to help the team win the game."