Barbara Bush, the daughter of former United States President George W. Bush, married screenwriter
Craig Coyne in early October 2018. The couple put a lot of thought into the timing of the
marriage, which may come as a surprise, considering that the two were engaged for only five weeks
before they actually tied the knot. So why the quick turnaround?
Speaking in an interview with People magazine, the former first daughter revealed that past
regrets and current concerns over her grandparents' declining health was all it took to inspire
the couple to take the leap together, and get hitched sooner rather than later.
You may remember that the Bush family lost their matriarch, Barbara Bush, in April 2018.
The former First Lady of the United States passed away at the age of 92 after opting
to stop receiving treatment for multiple medical issues. She left behind her husband of 73
years, former President George H.W. Bush, as well as five children, 17 grandchildren,
and five great-grandchildren.
The death of the elder Barbara Bush seems to have sparked a shift in perspective for
her younger namesake. As Bush told People,
"That's the one thing about waiting. You can have this great career and this great life.
But, of course, the older you get, you lose people that you love."
While it was reported that her grandmother's health had been declining for weeks prior
to her death, the younger Barbara still described her death as being unexpected. As she said
she realized in the People interview,
"Craig didn't get to meet my grandmother. I thought there would be plenty of time for
that to happen."
Soon after the death of the elder Barbara, the widowed George H.W.'s health began to
take a worrying turn for the worse. Just days after his wife was laid to rest, the 94-year-old
was hospitalized in Houston, Texas after an infection entered his bloodstream. One month
later, he was admitted to a hospital in Maine due to low blood pressure and fatigue.
At the time, the younger Barbara had been dating Craig Coyne since the beginning of
2018, making their relationship official at the turn of the new year. So when Coyne popped
the question on August 25, during a family occasion near the same location that Bush's
grandparents got engaged back in 1943, the couple decided that they didn't need to wait.
As Barbara explained it to People,
"We just thought, let's try to do it soon, a small wedding with just our family and my
grandfather, here."
The newly-engaged couple committed to the idea of a very brief engagement. According
to Barbara, the two would have been perfectly happy to get married as soon as the very next
week after the proposal. As she explained it,
"We knew we wanted to be married, we'd already made that decision, so we didn't need months
of an engagement."
Fortunately for the Bush family, George H. W.'s health held up as the big wedding day
approached. According to Barbara, her granddad was doing "great" at the time of the wedding,
though he does still miss her grandmother.
Bush and Coyne tied the knot in an intimate ceremony held in the backyard of her grandparents'
home in Kennebunkport, Maine on Sunday, October 7. According to the Today show, the wedding
itself was indeed a family affair. The bride donned a custom-made Vera Wang wedding dress,
and completed her gorgeous look with a moving bit of "something borrowed", her late grandmother's
bracelet, which she received from George H.W. on their 70th wedding anniversary.
Former president George W. walked his daughter down the aisle in a ceremony that was officiated
by Barbara's aunt, Dorothy Bush. Barbara's twin sister, Today show correspondent Jenna
Bush Hager, was also part of the proceedings as the matron of honor. She described the
ceremony by saying,
"It was a very secret wedding, a little bit like my elusive sister. But also, just family
in a place that means family love, and it was just beautiful."
However, it sounds like no one is happier for Barbara Bush and her new husband than
her father, the 43rd president, who took to Instagram to share his compliments to the
happy couple on the day after their wedding. The celebratory post read,
"Barbara is named for a unique and strong woman, and rightly so, because she is unique
and strong. Laura and I are so proud of our compassionate, daring, fierce, kind, intelligent,
loving daughter. And we're thrilled to welcome Craig Coyne to our family."