‘WHILE YOU WERE ’

Synopsis

Two amateur photographers meet on a blind date and soon, each is wondering if the other might well be their perfect match … 16 years after their divorce.

Nick Stendahl (Billy Baldwin) and Julia Minterman (Stefanie von Pfetten) meet in person after hitting it off anonymously on a photography website. Each is shocked to discover that their “date” is the former spouse they divorced 16 years earlier. They laugh off the coincidence over dinner and, since both are open to meeting someone special, they agree to fix up the other on dates. When Julia got a dream job in Europe right after college and Nick stayed in Portland, they tried to make it work but distance, among other things, brought the marriage to an end almost before it got started. And while they may not admit it, being back in contact with one another is reigniting the spark that brought them together as college sweethearts.

Nick is successful in real estate, renovating and reselling properties with his partner and best friend Kyle (Robert Moloney). Julia runs a bakery, assisted by her best friend Leslie (Julia Benson). Julia fixes Nick up with Leslie, but it is immediately clear when all Nick talks about is Julia that the date is a non-starter. And when Nick fixes Julia up with his real estate broker, it goes down in the record books as one of the shortest dates in history. Without even realizing it, Nick and Julia are singing the praises of their former spouses to friends and colleagues with whom they are fixing each other up. And while their friends seem to notice how much the former couple really like each other, they each brush it off as “we’re just friends again, that’s all.” After meeting “as friends” a few more times in between their dating other people, Julia and Nick are really hitting it off; so much so that Nick starts wondering if there might still be something between them after all these years. The feelings intensify after Nick helps Julia out by giving her struggling bakery a makeover. However, when Julia’s most recent ex, Dylan (Lochlyn Munro) returns to Portland and they are officially back together again, and Nick meets Elsa (Aiyah O’Brien), who seems to be a great match for him, Nick puts the idea of a serious reunion with Julia out of his head.

However, following a double date between Nick/Elsa and Julia/Dylan, Elsa breaks up with Nick, explaining that it is completely obvious that he still carries a flame for Julia. Nick knows now that it is true; Julia is the one he is meant to be with. But, with Dylan back in her life, he knows he must let that dream go, at least for now. It’s now Valentine’s Day, and both have moved on with their lives. However, when Kyle and his wife attempt to fix Nick up with a , he says no. Nick is done with blind dating. But that night when both Julia and Nick spot each other online, they say hi. Nick tells Julia he is no longer seeing Elsa, and Julia reveals that she broke up with Dylan. They soon rush to meet each other and declare their love, both now certain that they will cherish what took them so long to discover ... that love can be sweeter the second time around.

--HALLMARK CHANNEL--