CV Weekly’s Pick for Valentines of the Year, 2015
By Lisa Morgan
I first got to know Bradley Ryan, one of the most popular radio personalities and entertaining event hosts in the desert, when I wrote an article about him for CV Weekly. I wondered why the guy was single. This good looking guy had steady employment at the top of his field, a stellar sense of humor, and one of kind, Bostonian charm. It seemed he could easily have his pick of the single women out there. Yet, there was a small seed of cynicism and hurt hiding underneath the surface that I only discovered after listening closely to his original music (yes, on top of everything else, the man is musically talented as well). Like all of us, Ryan had his heart broken at some point. Being a guy with a small circle of trust, this could have taken him out of the game completely.
“I wasn’t looking,” Ryan says. “I was nearing 40, and I wasn’t panicked about the idea that I might not find ‘the one’. I met Savannah at our Mix 100.5, Crater Lake, Bartender Bash at Tilted Kilt. She worked there. She wasn’t competing, but she was definitely getting plenty of attention. We started talking. A couple of Sea World tickets for her family later, I asked her out.”
Gregg Aratin, a close friend and RR Broadcasting colleague of Ryan’s, was there at the events surrounding this connection. “She was friendly. It may have been pure attraction at first, but she seemed to be honest and real. I think he finally found someone who can stand up to his crap. She cares about his health. He loves her for all of that.”
That very important first date almost didn’t happen, according to Ryan. “She almost didn’t go. I guess she didn’t want to spend another evening with another loser,” Ryan laughed. “Her friend talked her into it. Our first date was at the Cliff House in La Quinta. We had a nice time. Since I moved here from Boston, I haven’t had a lot of people I can really talk to. For some reason, I felt like I could talk to her. I took her to Hair of the Dog in Palm Springs on our second date. I thought I’d get her drunk, then take her out back and make out with her. She didn’t let me,” he laughed.
Something Ryan did must have worked, because on December 21st, at the huge, annual Mix 100.5 Acoustic MixMas, in front of a packed house, Bradley Ryan got down on one knee in front of everyone, and asked Savannah Valdez to be his wife. She, being the smart AND beautiful woman that she is, gave him an excited “Yes!”
“I knew she was the one,” shared Ryan. “I wasn’t nervous about whether she would say yes. I was nervous that I’d trip and fall on my way over to her.”
Tuesday, February 3rd, more big news came from the couple. With a Facebook post, Ryan and his bride posted a picture of his adorable dog, Bubba, standing next to a picture of a sonogram and a sign that read, “I’m going to be a big brother!” It has since been confirmed that Baby Bradvannah will be arriving sometime very close to July 25, 2015. Now all of you can quit doing the math. Yes, Ryan knew the love of his life was expecting when he proposed to her, but he had been saving up for the ring long before that. Co-worker, Dawn McManus, at RR Broadcasting (as much a family as a work team), shared, “It’s great seeing Brad so happy! They make an awesome couple. Brad BEAMS when he talks about Savannah and the baby. It’s so cute to see him so excited for the future. He’ll be a terrific daddy!” Mel Hill, who is very much a mother type as well as a team leader at RR Broadcasting says, “You just never know where you’ll find love. Who would have guessed that Bradley, hosting our Bartender’s Bash radio promotion, would meet Savannah, they’d fall in love, get married and start a family. When love is in the air, there’s no stopping it.”
Manny De la Rosa, known throughout the land as “Manny the Movie Guy” has worked closely with Ryan for many years both on and off the air. Bursting with excitement (as only Manny can), he shared his feelings about these developments in his friend’s life: “Congrats on the happy couple! Through the years of working and being friends with Bradley, I’ve never seen him this content and glowing! Savannah has the magic touch! By the way, they promised me that I’ll be the fairy godmother of their child, so I can’t wait to dust off my magic wand! I wish Bradley and Savannah eternal happiness, and to their baby, a life full of love and wonderment!”
I asked Ryan if he had any words of advice for those still out there this Valentine’s Day, single and searching for true love. “Quit looking,” he said. “When you’re looking for it, you put on a facade…you’re not being your most authentic self.”
March 1st, among their family and friends, Bradley Ryan and Savannah Valdez will have a “Reveal Party”, where they will announce whether their little bundle of pure joy will be a girl named Providence or a boy named Easton.
All of us here at CV Weekly wish the Valdez-Ryan tribe (yes, that includes you too, Bubba) all the joy and beautiful adventure this life can shower on you. And to all you Valentine’s and Singles, may you find your greatest sense of contentment and hope during this season of love. I promise, Love is all around you, even if it doesn’t come in a heart shaped box. It can always be found in the giving of it.
