According to Helen, "I started as the official ILAA tour rep for the Sparkle Lounge tour which started its US leg in Camden, NJ on June 23rd, '09. During our first day on the job, Phil walked into the production office and appeared really happy to see me. I was surprised he even remembered me from our brief encounter the year before on the road.
The next day on the 24th in Cleveland, OH, the crew and band had the day off so we all went bowling & to the movies. Phil met me and some other crew members, including his son Rory who was on the lighting crew, at the bowling alley. We all walked to the movies in a mall connected to the hotel. It was there that we instantly connected.
June 25th, Phil approached me and asked if he could have '7 minutes' of my time. We walked back to his tour bus where he proceeded to tell me every aspect of his current and former life including all instances involving his wives, children, girlfriends, former and current, everything. He left no stone unturned. After all was said and done he asked if I was offended by anything he had just told me. I looked him straight in the eyes and said no. In fact I told him his story was a small one compared to the many I had known through my own experiences with friends and family. That level of honesty between us set the tide for what was to become the most precious and rarest form of human appreciation two people could possibly muster for each other. Friendship quickly turned to fondness. Fondness to love.
On August 12th, my grandmother's birthday (unbeknownst to him), a month and a half from the day of that fateful conversation, Phil proposed and I accepted. We call our union '7 Minutes'. Together with his writing partner CJ Vanston and Chesney Hawks, Phil has written a beautiful song for me about the moment he decided to 'come clean' with it all. It's called '7 Minutes'. The song says it all...."