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Brusso and Manelski's relationship involved a child from the start--their 6-year-old daughter, Camille. Manelski, her biological dad, shares custody with Camille's mother. "I always knew it would have to be somebody very special before I'd make the commitment to bring that person into her life," Manelski says.
Married: September 27, 2008 Together: 3 years
Even in West Hollywood, popularly known as the land of beautiful people, John Manelski and Jordan Brusso make a striking couple. As a manager at the Point Foundation, an organization that provides financial support, mentoring, and leadership training to LGBT college students, 26-year-old Brusso is responsible for planning the organization's semiannual conferences. Manelski, 30, works for InLuxuria, an exclusive concierge and travel service for high-net-worth clients.
Brusso and Manelski's relationship involved a child from the start--their 6-year-old daughter, Camille. Manelski, her biological dad, shares custody with Camille's mother. "I always knew it would have to be somebody very special before I'd make the commitment to bring that person into her life," Manelski says. "When I first met Jordan, I thought he was so stuck-up. I'm like, Here's this beautiful boy, and he's so quiet and just kind of smiles. But he turned out to be the most wonderful person in the world."
Brusso, who came out just six months before he met Manelski at Los Angeles's gay pride festival in 2005, admits that he hesitated to promise a lifetime of fidelity--until he thought of his parents and grandparents, married a total of nearly 90 years. "My mom was 19 and my dad was 22 [when they got married]," he says. "I thought, Oh, we're late bloomers!"
Camille was also a major factor in Brusso's decision to marry. "I'm totally invested in her life and her future," he says. "Having this legal [marriage] gives me a way to be part of Camille's life."
Given Manelski's skill at arranging extravagant occasions, it would make sense if he whisked his new husband off for a honeymoon in Fiji. But these newlyweds planned frugally for their nuptials in order to save money for their future. Their wedding on September 27 was a backyard affair, with Camille as ring bearer and both sets of parents (and Brusso's grandparents) in attendance. "Everything we didn't spend," Manelski says, "we could put toward a house of our own--and Camille."
