ESPN’s Patrick McEnroe and actress Melissa Errico’s decades-long marriage all started with a spark at the elementary school water fountain.

McEnroe, 59, and Errico, 55, were both students at Buckley Day Country School on Long Island, where McEnroe was best friends with Errico’s brother, Michael. 

“He had this younger sister,” McEnroe recalled in an exclusive interview with Us Weekly. “When you’re in eighth grade and the younger sister is in fourth grade, that’s a pretty big age gap. But I always sort of had this little crush on her.”

He continued, “We had a moment that we both remember by the water fountain. We were both walking through school and we had this little moment, this little connection.”

Errico, who recently made her London concert hall debut with her acclaimed show Sondheim in the City Live!, recalled the interaction as if it was yesterday.

“We were in front of the water fountain by the science room,” Errico told Us. “The school was quiet. We looked at each other and there was this long pause. When we re-met in our 20s, we both remembered the moment by the water fountain.”