| Quality time: Andy Irons and Lyndie Dupuis |
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LOVE ON TOUR By Tiff Hervey They are bronze and beautiful. They are madly in love. And their lives consist of going to the most beautiful places in the world together. He likes to surf and win world titles. She loves spending time with him, playing golf, shopping and enjoying life. Andy Irons and Lyndie Dupuis have been together for four years, recently celebrating their anniversary on July 24, which is also Andy’s birthday. They are surfing’s royal couple. And to secure their reign as professional surfing’s most visible sweethearts, Andy recently proposed to Lyndie in June while on the heart-shaped island of Fiji. “Andy walked me around the island at sunset and when we got to the point there was ‘Will you marry me?’ in the sand,” Lyndie recalls of the proposal. “Then he got down on one knee and asked me with a huge fake diamond that we got at Luke Egan’s wedding. It was so romantic and perfect!” The newly engaged couple first met in Fiji about six years ago, but both were in relationships at the time. They would see each other a few times a year until they ran into each other in Encinitas, San Diego where Lyndie was living. “Koby Abberton and Blair Marlin actually hooked us up,” Lyndie recalls. “That night Kala and Kamalae [Alexander] were there too, it was a really funny, crazy night!” Andy’s first thoughts when he initially met Lyndie hint at love at first sight, “I thought she was the most beautiful girl I have ever seen,” he recalls. “I felt [love] the first time I met her.” Lyndie has traveled with AI on tour now for the past three years. There is rarely a picture of Andy at an event without the beautiful 25-year-old brunette at his side. “It’s been amazing,” Andy says of having his better half on the road with him. “She has a lot to do with my success.” And with three world titles under his belt, (two of which she was on hand to witness) that is saying a lot. Lyndie likes tour life because every day feels new and exciting. Her role as girlfriend has morphed into manager: organizing Andy’s travel plans, dealing with media requests, emails, scheduling interviews and appearances and so on. Constantly traveling and competing can wear on a person’s spirit, but it seems Andy is thriving on sharing it with his loved one. “Without her, nothing in my life would work,” he says. “I would fall off the tracks.” Traveling nine months out of the year definitely has its perks and pains. “I guess everyone thinks that our lives are perfect and that nothing ever goes wrong,” Lyndie expresses. “The tour life is an emotional roller coaster. I don't get to see my family that much. When we are traveling there are cancelled or late flights when you have been traveling for days. There are lots of little things that could go wrong. But I love the tour life. It may not always be peachy but most of the time it’s amazing. We get to see so many cultures and people that 90 percent of the normal people don't get to experience.” On the lay days, the pair cruise and soak in the local sights wherever they are. They also like to golf, go to the movies and the mall. Andy had a healthy serving of the tour’s party scene in his rookie years, so he enjoys going with Lyndie to see the “touristy” or cultural spots he’s never explored on the tour before. Andy adds, “My favorite time to spend with her is when it’s just us with no interruptions, which is rare.” During contest days, they stay mellow and watch DVDs or go to the contest and watch heats. “I sit where the contest tents are but when Andy surfs, I like to go down on the beach alone because I get so nervous,” Lyndie admits, adding that they can still converse when he’s in competition mode. “We talk. He doesn't get all weird.” In addition to being a three-time ASP World Champion, Irons is a four-time Triple Crown Champion, a major achievement among the surf world and even more special for a Hawai‘i-born surfer. He throws some of the highest spray on tour and is an innovative and exciting surfer to watch, whether it be a contest or a free surf session. And it seems Andy puts this same focus and effort into pleasing his lady. “He does lots of sweet things for me,” Lyndie says. “He buys me flowers and surprises me with trips around the world. Every holiday he makes it so special for me. He even does Easter egg hunts for me in Australia because I am not home with my family, and that's a tradition for my family.” As the Billabong Pro at Jeffrey’s Bay in South Africa commenced in July, Andy and Lyndie went shopping for an official engagement ring. They have an exciting and authentic romance amidst an industry that becomes more laden with rock star antics, Hollywood exposure and celebrity-level fame each year. Andy and Lyndie are on a road less traveled, and now just beginning their lifelong adventure together. They are, quite simply, love on tour. [PAU]
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