COLUMBUS, Ind. — The eventual champion married couple of Turning Point Domestic Violence Services’ Not-So-Newlywed Game Finale made a not-so-optimistic prediction beforehand: They didn’t have a real chance at winning. So the two who said “I do” more than 24 years ago decided pretty understandably that “we won’t” — that is, beat another couple, Paul and Julie Furber, who had recorded a perfect score in the last competition in 2019.
“So we didn’t even practice (questions),” said a beaming Diana Gambaiani immediately afterward. “And look what happened.”
Indeed, look: She and husband Tony Gambaiani scored 50 points, and racked up enough harmony that, even when they didn’t match answers on questions such as Diana’s superpower, they still lovingly smooched — partly because he had answered “her kindness.”
“That’s so sweet,” she said, as a crowd of 300 people at The Commons audibly ooohed.
The annual fundraiser, held annually from 2015 to 2019 until the COVID-19 pandemic interrupted everything, raised a near-record $18,900 for local student college scholarships as part of the nonprofit agency’s Sarah Cannon Scholarship Fund.
The charity event is a spoof of the classic TV game show, “The Newlywed Game.” Its intent is to show healthy, lasting, give-and take relationships since Turning Point’s mission is to stop dating and domestic violence, which is rising locally.
And just like the game show from which it was spun, five competing couples — the winners from each of the five preceding competitions — had to give answers as they felt their spouse would answer so that their responses would match. Besides the Gambaianis and Furbers, the other couples were Chuck and Suzanne Wells, Charlie and Jayne Farber, and Charles and Lorraine Smith.
Host Mickey Kim, known for his dry wit, offered his customary reminder at the show’s opening that all questions were rated PG, and there would be no references to “making whoopie,” as TV host Bob Eubanks used to term marital intimacy. And local disc jockey Alan Trisler provided all the expected right sound effects for wrong answers and more after Turning Point leaders honored the two for their service.
The Smiths, married the longest of all couples at 45 years, regularly triggered some of the loudest laughter with their straightforward banter. On a question about what performer that she would most like to see in concert, Lorraine suddenly looked dejected.
“Everybody that we like is dead,” she quipped.
But optimism was alive and well throughout the friendly competition, including when Chuck and Suzanne Wells finally matched answers and scored 10 points very late in the game. Chuck humorously raised his arms in victory and loudly proclaimed, “We’re on the board!”
For the complete story and more photos, see Saturday’s Republic.
