BELLEVUE, Neb. (KMTV) — He had a valve replaced. She was recovering from a heart attack. Their hearts were literally on the mend.
- Neither Deb Robertson nor Al Gransee were looking for love. At 73 and 77 years old respectively, and both having loved and lost, they believed it was no longer in the cards.
- Blindsided: Earlier this year, on a bench outside Nebraska Medicine in Bellevue, the two - after cardiac rehab - connected.
- As Al left that day, Deb realized their paths had sort of crossed already. His blue truck was the key that unlocked that memory.
Continue reading for that twist, and that full broadcast transcript.
"Well, how would you like to come over and show me how to use the new washing machine?," Al Gransee smiled.
"Talk about a pickup line!," Deb Robertson exclaimed.
These two met at cardiac rehab at Nebraska Medicine in Bellevue.
"I wasn't looking for love. You know what, I figured, at my age, no," Robertson explained.
She, at 73, and Al, at 77, had both loved and lost.
They first developed a sweet friendship.
"I was sitting right here... and get out your phone. Remember? You were showing me pictures of the dogs," the pair reenacted.
One day after rehab, on that white bench, they sat and talked for more than an hour - sharing their lives, and even going back 50 years.
"His name was Sundance," Gransee said, gesturing to a photo of the horse he had in his 20s.
He and Robertson realized how much they have in common.
"And it's just like high school, almost like high school all over again," she beamed.
About three months into their courtship, they watched Dead for a Dollar on his couch.
"And I thought, 'Al, you should go and make this lady your wife while you have the chance'," he recalled.
"And he said, 'Will you marry me?' And I said, 'Wait, hold on, I've got to finish watching this movie.' And then I realized what he said," Robertson finished the story.
She did not hesitate to say 'yes.'
Gransee had already asked Robertson's son for his blessing.
"But what's funny, is there's a backstory about this," she paused.
A backstory, indeed.
The day on that bench, she watch Gransee leave in a blue a truck.
"Where do I know that truck from? And I'm going, 'Where have I seen it? Not at the "supermarket, not at the bank. Where have I seen it?' My granddaughter's 18th birthday party! That's Papa Al! That's who they've been talking about!," Robertson declared.
Gransee lived next to Robertson's son and his family for several years. In fact, her daughter-in-law made plans to introduce the now-couple through a coffee date.
But before that could happen, they wound up in cardiac rehab.
And together.
Making plans for forever.
"My heart is healed. And now, my heart is fulfilled. That empty space is no longer there," Robertson said.
"It doesn't matter how old you are, you can always fall in love," Gransee encouraged.
They're looking forward to a September 6, 2025 wedding. As other couples might relate - there is a Husker game that night, so their ceremony is planned for the day.