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Hot Husbands

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In the spirit of Valentine’s Day, we sought out a half-dozen San Diego husbands who reaffirm our faith in love and marriage. Sure, they’re attractive, but they’re also accomplished, civic-minded and family oriented. (What’s hotter than a guy holding his newborn baby?) We asked wives to nominate their husbands through our Web site and received an avalanche of entries. (Okay, we admit it: We reached out to Jimmie Johnson’s wife, Chandra.) Then we assembled a diverse panel of San Diego Magazine employees, who sifted through the pile of photos and heartfelt nominations, and the editors whittled the list down to six hubbies. We think they’re all quite a catch——and so do their wives.

Dan Cohen

When Paige first met her future husband back in 2003, she thought he was “the all-American boy next door.” She was a student at the University of San Diego sharing a South Mission Beach house with friends. Dan had recently moved to town from Florida. “He was the friendly neighbor guy everyone knew,” recalls Paige. She didn’t know he worked as a TV news anchor for local CBS affiliate Channel 8—a job that placed him squarely in the public eye.

One Sunday morning, Dan knocked on her door and asked if anyone was going to church. After realizing they attended the same church, The Rock, they decided to go together. Afterward, they grabbed dinner. “After that day, we said, ‘Let’s go together next week,’ ” says Paige. “And that was it.”

Dan proposed in June 2007, at his 30th birthday party. “He spontaneously jumped on a lounge table and gave a speech thanking people in his life—our families and friends were there—and he began saying all these nice things about me,” says Paige, 26. “Before I knew it, he was proposing! I was totally shocked.” A Channel 8 camera crew was there to record it all for the next day’s broadcast.

“I love surprises, and Dan definitely caters to that,” says Paige. “He hand-delivers beautiful bouquets of flowers to me at work and leaves cards on my car windshield. He’s always doing these sweet acts of kindness for no reason.” And while she says he’s a “guy’s guy” who loves sports, “He can also shop till we drop.”

Humility and generosity are two of her husband’s defining qualities, she says. “He tends to be the best at what he does—a man of many talents—and incredibly humble.”

One cause that’s close to his heart is helping San Diego’s homeless. “He’ll stop and pick up food for a homeless person and spend time getting to know them,” says Paige.

Michael Brucker

It’s not his hazel eyes or natural athletic skill (he runs marathons, skis, scuba dives and plays golf) that Mike’s wife, Kim, thinks are his most attractive qualities. “What I find most attractive is his patience,” she says. “Mike is extremely calm and reassuring in the face of any crisis.”

As a plastic surgeon with his own practice in La Jolla, Mike balances a demanding job with his growing family. The Bruckers, married for six years, have three young children: Aaron, 4; Aidan, 2; and Julia, almost 1.

“We definitely have our challenging days, but I couldn’t do it without him,” says Kim. Mike is teaching their sons to play golf and soccer, and planning camping trips for the spring. At night he reads to them, and he drives them to school in the morning. “Not only is he dedicated to our family,” says Kim, “but to his family as well.” He spends a lot of time with his retired parents who live nearby, doing woodworking projects with his dad and cooking with his mom. He’s handy in the kitchen at home, too, says Kim. “Mike does about half the cooking in our house; the more complicated the recipe, the better.”

She is also quick to praise her husband’s surgical talent. “His patients continually shower him with letters praising him for his skill as a surgeon and his compassion as a caregiver,” she says. That compassion is also evident in his volunteer work with Fresh Start Surgical Gifts, a local nonprofit that provides free reconstructive plastic surgery to underprivileged children. Mike is on Fresh Start’s board of directors and is the medical director and an active plastic surgeon for its cause. “He is truly touched by the plight of these children who were either born with physical deformities or have been in an accident,” says Kim. “The children are so grateful for Mike’s surgical talents and the time he spends with them.”

Jeff Gove

As a pro golfer on the PGA Tour, Jeff is on the road 30 weeks a year. So when he and his wife, Heather, started a family four years ago, he bought a 45-foot motorhome so they could be together full-time. With the birth of their third child last year, Heather and the kids (ages 4, 2 and not quite 1) weren’t able to travel as much, “so time at home with Dad is precious,” she says. And when Jeff, 37, is home, “He is on 100 percent,” says Heather. “I love to hear him go in the kids’ room in the morning and get them out of bed. The laughter is the best sound!”

The devoted dad loves interacting with his littlest fans, too, says Heather. “My favorite thing to see him do is sign autographs after a round of golf,” she says. “The little kids love seeing the players, and Jeff is more than happy to hang out and sign away.” He also enjoys interacting with college-level golfers and hosts an annual retreat for 20 to 30 students. “Jeff really has a heart for college-age kids,” says Heather. “They all stay at our home for the weekend and have a blast.” He’s also donated rounds of golf for several charities, including the San Diego Boys & Girls Club.

That giving spirit applies to his seven-year marriage, too. “I cannot count the number of times Jeff has shown up with a huge bunch of roses,” she says. “He knows they are my favorite.” But as much as she loves the roses, Heather says, “It’s the time and energy he puts into our marriage that makes me think he is hot. He still gives me butterflies.”

Jimmie Johnson

The 33-year-old El Cajon native made People magazine’s list of “Sexiest Men in the Fast Lane.” Indeed, the three-time reigning NASCAR Sprint Cup champion has a loyal following of female fans. So what does his wife, Chandra, make of her husband’s heartthrob status? “He’s such a doll, I’m not surprised,” she says.

Jimmie and Chandra were introduced by mutual friends in 2002. She was modeling in New York City; he was living in Charlotte, North Carolina (where Team Lowe’s Racing is based). “We definitely had an instant attraction,” says Chandra. After dating long-distance for a year and a half, Jimmie proposed during a ski trip to Colorado. “It was 9:30 in the morning, and we were skiing,” she says. “I didn’t expect it at all.”

He continues to bring an element of the unexpected to their marriage, says Chandra. “He’s incredibly romantic and is always planning dates and finding creative gifts,” she brags. For her most recent birthday, Jimmie surprised her with a DVD compilation of home video footage from her childhood. “He collected all of my old VHS tapes from my parents and had them edited down, set to music and put on a DVD. It was the most amazing video.”

Jimmie and Chandra also share a passion for philanthropy. In 2006, the couple created the Jimmie Johnson Foundation to assist children, families and communities in need throughout the country. They annually host a charity golf tournament in San Diego, the most recent of which funded the construction of a Habitat for Humanity home in El Cajon. The couple recently pledged to build three more such homes, in addition to their support of various other charitable causes such as the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Besides racing champion and philanthropist, there’s another title Jimmie would eventually like to achieve: dad. “Kids are definitely in the future,” says Chandra.

Hal Dunning

At 45 years old and still unmarried, Hal was accustomed to the question of why he hadn’t settled down and started a family. His response? He was waiting for the right woman. “Lucky me,” says Hilary, his wife of eight years. The couple met through mutual friends in 1999, stayed in touch via e-mail, kept bumping into each other and eventually began dating. “It became apparent rather quickly that we were completely meant for each other,” she says. “He proposed four months later in Carmel, at the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve.”

The couple started their family—their daughter, Haley, is 6—when Hal was 47 and Hilary was 42. “Hal always puts family first, and places the ultimate value on his involvement, participation and support of his family’s activities, goals and dreams,” says Hilary. Despite a demanding job as COO, CFO and a principal of insurance company Barney & Barney, Hal “maintains a constantly visible presence” in their daughter’s life, coaching her soccer teams, attending every teacher-parent conference, taking part in Indian Princesses campouts, helping with piano practice, making playdates at home with her friends more fun by being silly, “just being an incredible, all-around strong and solid dad.”

Hal, now 53, also encouraged Hilary to retire from her job in corporate marketing to be a stay-at-home mom and pursue her passion for music. “He supports my dream of writing, performing—and now recording—my first CD of my own original music, something I never, ever dreamed would be possible,” she says.

Outside of his family, Hal supports a number of community causes, serving on the boards of various nonprofits, including Walden Family Services, a foster-family agency. For the past 13 years, he’s volunteered weekly at Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla.

And despite all the obligations, Hal still goes out of his way to make his wife feel appreciated and loved, says Hilary. “He is a strong and sentimental man who still loves to surprise me with romantic getaways, roses, special gifts and lots of affection.”

Serge Dedina

“It was love at first sight,” says Serge’s wife, Emily. When the couple first met, she was drawn to his passion for protecting the environment—a passion that has been a thread throughout their 19-year marriage. “He is never content to let the world go by; instead, he is always searching for ways to make the world a better place, and travel the ends of the earth with his family,” says Emily, who accepted Serge’s marriage proposal during a trip to Morocco.

As executive director of Wildcoast, Serge, 44, works to protect and preserve coastal ecosystems and wildlife in California and Latin America, often traveling around the world with his family in tow. “Serge has always wanted to make a difference,” Emily says. “He has been fighting to clean up the beaches of southern San Diego County since he was 17.” Among his other credits: “He helped stop a planned salt works project that would have destroyed one of the few remaining undisturbed calving grounds for the California gray whale; worked diligently to halt the slaughter of endangered sea turtles and sharks in Mexico; and worked with the Mexican National Park Service to protect several miles of wild coastline and hot surf spots along the Baja California peninsula.”

And he’s equally passionate about being a great husband and father, says Emily. “After 19 years of marriage—we’ve been together 23 years—he still writes me romantic cards and calls me his soul mate.” When their two children were young, Serge was a stay-at-home dad and “not only took care of the kids, but also cooked and managed our bills, while writing a book at the same time,” she says. “He taught our boys to surf at the tender age of 2 and hasn’t stopped coaching since. He never misses the boys’ games or surfing competitions. His family always comes first.”

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Clothes provided by Ryan's Collection, Del Mar. Shot on location at the W Hotel.

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