Coastal Power Couple, Spring 2025

Brent & Angela Lane

This issue’s power couple, Brent and Angela, have been together for decades. They moved to Pensacola almost 20 years ago when Brent was recruited to Cat Country’s morning show. The couple spends their time supporting breast cancer awareness, vacationing at Lake Martin, and being with their three children and grandchildren.

Q: HOW DID YOU MEET?

BRENT: We met in a bar in San Diego, that’s no joke. The Bitter End was the name of the bar. I got her number on an O’Doul’s napkin and I called her the next day.

ANGELA: There is actually more to the story than that, but in a nutshell, yes. We met on Good Friday. It was a multilevel facility and we were in the basement where the dance floor was. We were doing our own thing, and we happened to bump into each other. I looked up because he’s 6’5”, and I said “you have the most beautiful brown eyes I’ve ever seen.”

B: And I said, “you’ve got nice teeth.”

A: Bless his heart. Isn’t that hilarious? That has to be the worst line ever.

B: Yeah, but you have beautiful teeth. It’s very important....Actually that night on the way out the bar, my buddy said “wouldn’t it be something if that was the girl you were gonna marry?” And I laughed and said “yeah that would!” He showed up when we got married and went “well, I’ll be danged!”

Q: WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST IMPRESSION OF EACH OTHER?

ANGELA: He was very sweet. He was very kind. Which fortunately has stood the test of time.

BRENT: I thought she was hot! So hot like this is so out of my punting coverage, but I am going to try my best. Cher was on. I went in for the kiss and she came back. We were making out on the dance floor. It was so great!

Q: WHEN AND HOW DID YOU PROPOSE?

BRENT: 8 months in on New Year’s Eve. It was raining.

ANGELA: And it doesn’t rain often in San Diego. It was kind of magical.

B: I got down on one knee on the front stoop and was like “let’s do this!” She obviously said yes, and then we got married 16 months later, also on the one day it rained so much. There was so much rain.

A: A crazy day! But you’ll see in the photos, it lightened up. It ended up being a beautiful day.

Q: IF YOU COULD GIVE YOUR MARRIAGE A SLOGAN, WHAT WOULD IT BE AND WHY?

BRENT: I think that our slogan is probably persevere above all.

ANGELA: It is…nicely done. I like it! *fist bumps Brent*

Q: WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LOCAL/ COASTAL DATE NIGHT SPOT?

BRENT & ANGELA: Jackson’s! (Jackson’s Steakhouse)

INTERVIEWER: What do you like to get?

B: Usually the blueberry muddle martini, which I’m probably not calling it right. There’s something about the steak with lump crab on it. It’s amazing. And usually we’ll get bacon wrap scallops—

A: A lot of times, we will just let them tell us what’s good at the time, and they’re never wrong. But, we always feel that’s kind of our spot. Celebrating not only the big things, but the little things. Last time we were there was in the summer for…?

B: My mom and dad’s 52nd wedding anniversary and my dad’s 80th birthday.

Q: WHAT IS THE NUMBER ONE ITEM ON YOUR BUCKET LIST TOGETHER?

ANGELA: He really really wants to go to Chile and ski. So that would be something the two of us… we have to do it soon because we’re aging. We have just really focused all of these years while raising kids to share experiences with them. We really love traveling as a squad. There’s nothing like having all the kiddos with you and making all those memories.

BRENT: You said you want to go to Greece, so that’s also on my bucket list.

ANGELA: Hey, thank you for listening. I’d forgotten about that but yes I do want to... Collectively, we talk often about our goal to have the home paid off. We’ve been aggressively working on a plan to have that done. So that’s going to be a huge celebration.

BRENT: Early in our marriage, we went through a lot of debt. I had a business problem that ended up going south. We ultimately took a Dave Ramsey class at our church and ended up teaching that class for 10 years. So that helped us establish some great financial goals together. We worked the weeks and spent eight years backing out of a problem. It was a lot, but if you’re willing to work together on it, there’s no doubt about it.

Q: WHAT IS YOUR NUMBER ONE TIP FOR A SUCCESSFUL AND LOVING MARRIAGE?

BRENT & ANGELA: Take walks. *laughter*

A: We walk every evening. We have two dogs, so it’s just part of our routine. We started it so many years ago. It used to be after family dinner. The kids would get their bikes, and we would do that mile. I do think that it’s turned into our therapy. It’s how we decompress. It’s how we let the day go. It’s how we share thoughts and dreams and frustrations.

B: It’s where we talk about all the things that we’ve got to work through. I think it’s about intentionality too. There’s hard conversations that can be had if you trust each other. There’s got to be a level of respect even when you’re frustrated with each other. It’s too easy to let a cross-word become malicious intent, and then you have to work your way back around that.

Q: CAN YOU DESCRIBE A SIGNIFICANT MOMENT IN YOUR MARRIAGE THAT STRENGTHENED YOUR BOND?

BRENT: Breast cancer.

ANGELA: It’s something we never saw coming. Although we didn’t really discuss it, we were immediately so together and on the same page. It was just hand-in-hand, “here we go”. For me, I felt so much respect because of his care, time, and attention. I obviously went through some really awful stuff, but he was 100% there with me. He never missed an appointment. I had a couple of things go really bad, and he had to get really involved with my care. I know it wasn’t easy, and some of it was really icky. I know he had a really hard time seeing me and not being able to take that away.

BRENT: It was obviously a surprise. For the radio station, we had a promotion every October for making strides against breast cancer. She was getting a mammogram every year around that time. We went from zero to “oh my gosh, you need to come back in.” I have a friend, Jeff, who I’d met a year before, and he’d also went through breast cancer with his wife. He said, ‘If you look for it, you’re gonna find God in the storm, and you’re gonna find your blessings in the storm.’ He was right. It brought us together. I did whatever she needed and became an advocate for her care. It’s a very maturing part of a relationship. You start dealing with health concerns and decisions you have to properly make, and suddenly you become grown adults together. Certainly, I’ve never been prouder of somebody who’s a wonderful advocate and a light to other women getting the same news. Angela is an incredibly strong person in doing that and that’s amazing.

Q: WHAT DO YOU LOOK FORWARD TO IN THE REST OF YOUR LIFE TOGETHER? HOPES, DREAMS, ETC.?

BRENT: A lake house. The lake house is really a metaphor but still true. We love Lake Martin, and it’s a trip we’ve done for 13 years at the end of the summer. Our goal is to have a place at the lake where we can just go.

ANGELA: I love where we are right now. Our kids and everybody’s just doing so well. Being able to watch them, be their biggest cheerleaders, and see their successes, not only in their careers but in their marriages. This grandparent stage is the best thing ever. We like being called Gigi and Pops.

BRENT: She’s worked really hard on the Gigi and Pops thing. We have printed stuff. If this kid calls us anything other than Gigi and Pops… I think that having kids who are successful, I’ve never been prouder.

Readers can learn more about breast cancer awareness and donate through The Keeping Abreast Foundation at keepingabreastfoundation.org