The Sweetest Photos of Trista and Ryan Sutter Through the Years

The couple was The Bachelorette's very first love story, and celebrated 20 years of marriage in 2023

Trista and Ryan Sutter were The Bachelorette's first great love story.

The physical therapist and firefighter met while filming the series' debut season in 2002, and by December of 2003, they'd tied the knot in a televised wedding ceremony.

"A big secret of ours is that we disappeared — we live kind of a relatively quiet life in Vail," Trista told Today of their marriage success in 2019. "Enjoy the fun stuff but really focus on your relationship."

Though Ryan concerned fans of the couple when he posted last week that "Trista is at a place in life where she is searching a bit" that "means that she is temporarily inaccessible to us," he clarified later that "Trista is fine. We are fine. We’re great."

Here, see some of the sweetest photos of the couple since their groundbreaking reality TV moment.

Meet Cute

After she finished as runner-up on season 1 of The Bachelor, Trista Rehn led the first-ever season of The Bachelorette, falling for quiet firefighter Ryan Sutter.

On Bended Knee

On the show's season finale in February of 2003, Ryan proposed after Trista sent home runner-up Charlie Maher.

They Do!

The couple's December 2003 wedding, which aired on ABC, was an elaborate affair that was watched by a staggering 26 million viewers. The reception was held at the Lodge at Rancho Mirage (a hotel and resort about 120 miles east of L.A.) and overall cost almost $4 million, PEOPLE reported.

Family First

Soon after the buzz quieted, Trista and Ryan settled into family life and welcomed their kids, son Maxwell, now 16, and daughter Blakesley, now 15.

TV Magic

Though they live a quiet life outside of Vail, Colorado, the Sutters have popped up at Bachelor franchise events throughout the years.

Helping Hands

They also went public with some health issues: his ongoing battle with Lyme disease and a violent seizure she suffered while on vacation in 2017.

Marriage Matters

In 2014, the pair returned to reality TV for a season of Marriage Boot Camp: Reality Stars. "I wanted to do that for us, but also show people that it’s not a bad thing to work on your marriage," she told Parade at the time. "It put our issues in front of us. Especially when you have kids, you’re going, going, going and you’re not necessarily confronting issues and talking about them."

'Just Us'

In an emotional Instagram post around the pair's 20th wedding anniversary in December of 2023, Ryan wrote in part, "This year was easily one of the craziest, most challenging, most unpredictable years of the 20 we’ve now spent together. Big change and heartbreaking loss tested our resolve. We left a community and friends and a lifestyle - a safe harbor - for a new adventure and to make a new home. We struggled and we cried. We laughed and we loved. We did it all and we did it together, like we always have. You and me, hand in hand, heart to heart. It started in front of millions but today it’s just us. No wedding special, no fanfare, no red carpet. Just Love. That’s all we’ve ever needed."

Party of Four

At the televised Golden Bachelor wedding in January of 2024, Trista and Ryan quietly attended with their all-grown-up kids, Blakesley and Maxwell.

Spring Fling

While celebrating Easter in March, Trista wrote on Instagram alongside this snap, "Thankful for the gifts of life and love, family near and far, friends new and old, and moments of connection and joy."

For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on People.