Brought together by Jane Austen, they fell in love and formed a family

Teri Roberts & Rachel Walton

Oct. 1, 2022, in Philadelphia

Their relationship began with an online romance – between the characters that Teri and Rachel created for a Jane Austen-themed role-playing game.

Inside “Ever, Jane,” Teri was Alexander Stanton, a well-off English gentleman fighting family pressure to marry, and Rachel was Silas Turner, a law student recovering from a broken heart. Outside the game, Teri was a data analyst living in Chicago with her husband, and Rachel, a mother with a penchant for writing and design who lived in Mount Airy with her husband and son.

The women became friends over Discord, typing their discussions of the Silas and Alexander plot. But between conversations about the difficulties that would have been faced by two men who loved each other in early 19th-century England, both eventually shared that they were questioning the arcs of their own lives and identities.

Neither Rachel nor Teri had a working marriage. And in the years before their online meeting in 2016, both had begun to realize that they could not make marriage to a man work, no matter how hard they and their spouses tried.

“We were both raised in conservative Christian families, and so growing up, we had never even considered that we weren’t heterosexual,” said Teri. “The queer thing was really this missing piece of the puzzle for both of us,” said Rachel. “Once that piece was there, everything made a lot more sense, and it was clear what had to be done.”

It was clear, but not easy. The friends supported each other through very difficult decisions. Teri ended her relationship with her husband in April 2017. The following month, Rachel took the same step.

That July, Teri flew to Philadelphia. On the last full day of her five-day visit, Rachel shoved her fear aside to directly address one last set of confusing feelings. “I have a little crush on you,” she told Teri.

“I have a little crush on you, too,” Teri replied.

Moments later, Rachel excused herself, closed the bathroom door, and silently jumped for joy. Teri suggested they go see a movie. They held hands the entire time.

“I’ve never met anyone who I could just keep talking to. We never seem to run out of things we can talk about,” said Rachel. “I think she’s really smart and hilarious. She gets me in a way that most people don’t. And she’s gorgeous.”

“I love the way her mind works,” said Teri. “I tend to be more impulsive and she just puts more thought and attention and consideration into things. She is very attractive and I love how easy it is to be around her. She’s my best friend who I also am in love with, and she is love with me.”

Teri and Rachel, now both 42, saw each other twice more in 2017. In March 2018, Teri found a job in Philly and moved to the Mount Airy home the couple shares with Rachel’s son, Asher, 13, and cats Pierre Allspice, Snax, Basil, and Beans. Rachel is a freelance graphic artist and writer. Teri is a senior data analyst for United Health Group.

There was not one proposal, but many. “We really enjoyed asking each other the question and had mini-proposals about a hundred times,” Rachel said.

On Oct. 1, 2022, they were married at their church, Chestnut Hill United, by senior pastor Kipp Gilmore-Clough. “Let’s take a moment to let ourselves be utterly gobsmacked by the creative, subtle, supple, mysterious, miraculous ways in which spirit can draw two people together ... can take two struggling souls, can add computers, internet, Jane Austen, and sideways glimpses of authenticity (Austenticity) – can take all that and, through some unfathomable holy alchemy, create family,” he said to their 50 guests.

Teri, Rachel, and Asher placed branches from three different types of trees into a single vase to symbolize that, just as a forest needs multiple species to thrive, they each bring their own unique strengths to form a single strong family.

Rachel promised Teri that while she knows her very well, she will always honor Teri’s mystery as she grows and changes. Teri promised to speak Rachel’s love language and try new things with her, even though Teri finds that a little scary.

The reception, held under a tent on the church grounds, featured warm beverages, the food truck Farm Truck Philly, and music – a string quartet and a Spotify playlist of pop and alternative tunes.

There was more talking than dancing. “Some of our friends hadn’t seen each other since the pandemic started,” Teri said.

Teri, Rachel, and Asher enjoy playing video and board games and family movie nights.

Rachel and Teri continue to role play in the Regency period with a group of friends they made through the now-defunct “Ever, Jane” game.

The couple is editing the second draft of a book they wrote based on the characters they created, Alexander Stanton and Silas Turner, but set in modern day Philadelphia.