Jill Weiss Ippolito’s love story is the stuff movies are made of. The film synopsis would read: She was a kid in juvenile hall. Not once, but three times she fell from a second-story building. At 18, she broke her third lumbar and wore a back brace for a year. At age 29, she had to have her left arm rebuilt in metal and began practicing yoga to heal. Nick was a student in her class, where he developed a crush and a strong practice. They fell in love, married and founded the South Pasadena-based nonprofit, UpRising Yoga, which offers yoga life skills training to incarcerated youth.
So, about two months ago, when an invite to participate in 2026 America’s Favorite Couple (AFC) contest popped up as she was scrolling in the wee hours of the night, Ippolito thought, why not? She would love to share her story with Variety magazine, win $20,000 to help fund UpRising Yoga and have a dinner date with AFC Ambassadors Jeff and Emilie Goldblum. . . .
Read the entire article at Pasadena Weekly.
Jessica Koslow 