SAN ANTONIO — Love is in the air and underwater at Sea World San Antonio, where more than seven employee couples say they met and fell in love.
Today those couples are married, and most of them have even started families while continuing in their careers together. KENS 5 dove into the love story to meet a few of those swimming love birds, and the trip down memory lane had them feeling butterflies and wearing grins all over again.
Scott McCoy spends most of his time managing teams and working with dolphins at Sea World’s Discovery Point. His wife, Amy, works with the killer whales in Shamu Stadium and first laid eyes on him in 2006 after he was set up by a fellow employee.
They’ve been married now for eight years, sharing a passion for all marine life, much like the other employee couples at Sea World.
You may think there's something in the water, and the Medinas would say you're right.
“It’s just great that we share common interest," Jason Medina said.
He trains beluga whales in Beluga Stadium while his wife, Meagan, serves as a supervisor for the Dolphin Discovery program in Discovery Point. Their story began at Sea World San Diego, where they worked together as friends for a year before getting engaged.
Her former experience with belugas has given Medina a place to turn with questions about his new role after transitioning from working with penguins. They transferred to Sea World San Antonio together in 2007 after tying the knot.
Unlike most couples, they occasionally cross paths on the job, but if they don't they gladly bring “work talk” home to discuss their adventures and challenges over dinner with their two children.
“It just makes life so much better when you love going to work each and every day, and sometimes we stay late because we don’t want to leave work,” Medina said.
The couple playfully argued over the best way to announce their eleventh wedding anniversary, which they're celebrating this weekend.
The longest-lived love story of the bunch is that of the Lacys. Steve Lacy is a producer in the entertainment department, and his wife, Kristie, works with McCoy and Medina in Discovery Point.
“We’ve been married now for 21 years in June,” Lacy said. His wife recounted the moment she knew he was the one.
“It was in the sea lion area,” she said. “I saw him crouching down interacting with some kiddos. And at that moment, I just knew I was in love.”
One thread that weaved through each couple’s confessions was the fact that none of them can seem to escape animals, water or Sea World staff even in their earliest moments together.
“There were about 10 other trainers that attended our wedding, and actually one of our great mentors and friends officiated our wedding,” McCoy said. “We were married in front of Sea World people by a Sea World person on the beach. So I guess we can’t get away from the water.”
Sea World San Antonio reopens after the holiday break on Feb. 23 at 10 a.m. For more information about the park, click here.