Crown Media
The 2020 Hallmark Movies & Mysteries film, A Godwink Christmas: Second Chance First Love, is based on the true story of Patrick (Pat) and Margery (Margie) Godfrey. Similarly, the 2018 A Godwink Christmas was also based on a true story about Gery and Paula Conover, and the 2019 Godwink movie was based on Alice and Jack Totah’s true story. Here is the behind-the-scenes true story of the Godfreys, upon which the movie is based.
This article will have spoilers about the movie, insofar as it follows the real-life story.
The Couple Reunited Randomly on a Highway in Their Hometown & Then Both Had New Jobs in the Same City 500 Miles Away
The movie is based on the popular series written by SQuire D. Rushnell (whose Simon & Schuster biography page spells his name with a capital S and a capital Q.) The third movie in the Godwink series was inspired by the true love story of Pat and Margie.
In real life, Pat and Margery had an unexpected reunion on a road in California back in the 1970s, Federal Way Mirror reported. They were high school sweethearts who went to sports games together and dances, CBN reported.
Life sent them in different directions. Pat moved to Hawaii and Margery moved to New Mexico. Margery developed a successful corporate career for herself in Boise, Idaho, where she worked for nearly 17 years. She didn’t find love and sometimes thought about Pat and wondered how he was. Pat, meanwhile, moved back home after his second divorce, when he had custody of his children.
In Los Angeles one night while visiting his mom, Pat was going through old photos when he saw a picture of Margery, Federal Way Mirror reported. Pat was going through his second divorce and had custody of his two children, but he couldn’t help but wonder what Margery was doing. He wanted to give up on love, but his thoughts were pulled in her direction. He called every person with her name in the phone book and came up empty.
Patrick found his high school car, a 1966 Ford Fairlane, at his mother’s house, and a picture of Margery was still on the visor, CBN reported.
One day, he felt a strong sensation that he should take a 45-minute-longer route to work that would take him through Santa Monica down I-405, Federal Way Mirror reported. While entering the on-ramp, a car pulled up next to him, honking. It was Margery! She had recognized his high school car. They pulled over and started talking.
Fate would later intervene again, CBN reported. Patrick could only find a job in Seattle, 500 miles away. Margery was in Boise, but then was offered a promotion to Vice President, which would also take her to Seattle.
They were married in 1979. Their love story was featured in a book called True Love, which was an anthology of real-life romances designed to raise money for Habitat for Humanity. It hit the New York Times Best Seller list.
Their story is in Rushnell’s tenth Godwinks book, called The Godwinks Effect.
Hallmark Has Made 2 Previous ‘Godwink’ Movies
This is Hallmark’s third Godwink movie. The first was called A Godwink Christmas and was based on the true story of Gery and Paula Conover and their Charlotte Inn in Martha’s Vineyard. You can read the true story in Heavy’s article here.
The second movie, which aired in 2019, was called A Godwink Christmas: Meant for Love. The movie was based on Alice and Jack Totah’s true story. You can read the true story from that movie in Heavy’s article here.
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