Two Coffee County families come together

Elba native Shay (Johnson) Carnley referred to her relationship with her fiancé Brian Sullivan – of Jack – as “unconventional” as the two get ready to blend their two families together.

Carnely and Sullivan have been dating for two years but have known each other for two decades or more.

“I was dating (my ex-husband) when I laid eyes on (Brian) for the first time,” Carnley said. “We were just friends and we hung out together over the years until one night we started talking on Facebook and decided to go to the beach together.”

Carnley – whose brother Jason Johnson is a former reporter at The Sun – said that the two are able to have fun together but said she truly knew Sullivan was the man for her when she saw the way he treated her son, Luke.

“He’s funny and we have fun together just sitting at the house,” she said. “He’s caring and sweet but the thing that really stands out is that one time after we hadn’t been dating very long, something was wrong with my car.

“He was checking it out and I heard him say, ‘Where’s the oil cap?’ and I thought he was asking me and I thought, ‘You dumbass,’ but I realized he was teaching Luke. I almost cried sitting right there in the car because he’d never had someone to take the time and teach him something like that.

Sullivan also has a child from a previous relationship, Ryan, that Carnley said knows her as mom already. Carnley said the two plan to get married this spring in Ozark at a family friend’s home but they haven’t quite set the date yet.

“Being a family and being there for the kids is what is important for us,” she said.

Carnley called the couple’s engagement “unconventional love,” too. After Carnley and Sullivan had been dating for some time the two began talking about marriage and then talking about wedding rings.

“I was obsessing over rings and I just decided I had to go put one on my finger and I found one that was just absolutely perfect,” Carnley recalled. “He was getting the wink and the nod from the jeweler and then we walked out and he was like, ‘So, you really want that one?’

He could see how excited I was and we went all the way back inside the store and there was some lady there trying my ring on and I almost had a fit. She left and didn’t get the ring and we got it. When we got home I was like, ‘So, are we engaged now?’ and then I handed him the ring and told him to ask me. He took it and completely in his style said, ‘I got ya’ something, babe. I got ya’ this ring, will ya’ marry me?’ and obviously I agreed.”