Just Engaged: Whitney and Jeremy

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Jeremy Lewis, 26, asked his “pretty, pretty princess,” Whitney Leone Boggs, 26, to be his queen on her birthday. The couple, who first met in high school and fell in love in college, will be married this summer in Detroit.

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For their first “official” date, Jeremy drove three-and-a-half hours from his Hampton University campus to Washington, D.C. to meet Whitney for dinner. “I arrived with flowers in hand,” he tell us. “And, what I remember most is that she looked and smelled amazing.”

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“I knew early on in our dating that something was different about Jeremy,” says Whitney. “Something was different because I was different. I was opening up, and I felt the urge to share my dreams, fears, and passions with him, when before I was always afraid of judgement.”

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When it came time for Jeremy to determine whether Whitney was in fact “The One,” he just had to do the math. “In my mind I thought about all of the qualities that she had, added them together, and it equaled the woman that I wanted to marry.”

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Jeremy’s no fool. He wanted to make sure his proposal to Whitney was idyllic, so he asked her parents for their blessing before he got down on bended knee.

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“When you are long distance lovers, you really learn to appreciate the simple things that others may take for granted,” says Jeremy. “Like Whitney reading ESSENCE magazine on the couch, while I watch football. She likes finding news recipes and having me try them, and I love being her taste tester.”

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Whitney and Jeremy are both from Detroit and take lots of pride in their hometown. It was important for them to plan their wedding there to keep their love story close to home. “We want our guests to experience the city we adore so much and see beyond the tabloid headlines,” says Jeremy.

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Whitney and Jeremy’s friends and family approved of their love connection from day one, and the couple cannot wait to share their marital bliss with them all this September.

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Whitney watched Jeremy transform from a party boy who was popular with all the ladies into a mature man whom she admires every day. “He realized what’s important in this life and what it takes to be successful at it,” she says. “I am so very proud of the man he is and excited for what’s to come.”

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“More than anything, I love that Whitney sincerely wants the best for me,” says Jeremy. “I love that she accepts me. I am not perfect, and she knows this more than anyone, but she still decides to love me.”

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“Jeremy is probably the only person who knows just how corny I really am,” says Whitney. “Yet, he laughs hysterically at my silly jokes and makes me think that I’m the next Kevin Hart.”

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Congratulations, Whitney and Jeremy! Enjoy each other. Love, ESSENCE.