The beginning of John and Kersty Franklin’s relationship didn’t exactly get off to what we’d call a “great start” – terrible is more like it.
In May of 1999, Kersty, who was 44 then, worked as a sex therapist for the prison system in Florida. She was making plans to come up to Toronto in September of that year to hold a training seminar.
John on the other hand, just retired from his job as a university professor due to his developing of Parkinson’s disease. He had just opened a bed and breakfast in the Mono region, which he advertised as close in proximity to the city.
It was then that Kersty heard about John’s place and sent an inquiry after hotels in the city were booked for the Toronto International Film Festival. John sent back a long reply about why Hockley Valley was a great place to live in, and sent detailed bits of information on the sites to see and spots to visit.
But John also wrote her about the qualities he was looking for in a woman at the bottom of his reply, something which irked Kersty. According to her, she was shocked by the nerve of John to say such a thing. She wrote John back and said that she was disgusted with what he said.
John wrote a reply and apologized, saying that he was only joking. Kersty sent an apology after a few days.
It was then that the two began to correspond a lot, with Kersty making a visit to John’s bed and breakfast. Both were smitten when they first met. They finally tied the knot in March 2001.