Hillsborough Native's Chance Knock Leads To Marriage, Baby, Contest Run

HILLSBOROUGH, NJ — A Hillsborough native is sharing the story of how a visit to Colorado in 2020 led to marriage, motherhood and a new life out West.

Their love story is has put them in fifth place in our America’s Favorite Couple contest, with a chance to win $20,000. The Top 5 round ends on Thursday.

Bridget Fox-Lear said she drove from Denver to Vail in November 2020 to meet a friend, but she had the address without the condo number.

According to Fox-Lear, she made 16 unanswered calls and was close to leaving to find a hotel.

She then saw a familiar pair of shoes through a window and knocked on the door.

A small dog named Fletcher reached the door first, and Will was behind him.

Fox-Lear's friend was inside the house, and that meeting introduced her to the man she would later marry.

The couple said that moment became the start of a life built around family, travel and shared traditions.

According to the couple, Bridget and Will later traveled around North America, bought a 1989 Blue Bird school bus named Pluto, made a home at their Colorado A-frame called Mulberry Farm, married at sunrise and welcomed their son, Rhett, on March 24.

Fox-Lear tied the story back to Hillsborough, where she said her own story began.

The couple's story also has roots in Vail and Colorado, where they met and built their life together, and in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, Will's hometown.

As of Aug. 3, Bridget and Will were fifth in their group in the 2026 America's Favorite Couple competition.

The Top 5 round ends Aug. 6, when public voting will determine which five couples advance to the Group Finals.

The nationwide competition raises funds and awareness for the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank and Oceana.

"Looking back, our favorite chapters did not begin because the timing was perfect," Bridget said. "They began because we chose them. If people remember one thing from our story, we hope it is this: choose your life instead of waiting for it to happen."

The couple has a chance of winning the $20,000 prize.

"We would put the $20,000 toward a home closer to our families with a little land. Our dream is to raise our children where they can run barefoot in the grass, help care for animals, and grow up surrounded by nature," said the couple. "We were both lucky enough to have that kind of childhood, and we want to give our kids the same opportunity to make those memories together."

To vote for the couple, visit americasfavcouple.org/2026/the-fox-lears.

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