Before Dana Perino was a White House press secretary or a Fox News anchor, she was a 25-year-old with a promising job on Capitol Hill, and no plans for romance. But one unexpected flight in 1997 changed everything.

On August 17 of that year, Perino boarded a plane from Denver to Chicago and found herself seated next to Peter McMahon, a 43-year-old British businessman. The seat assignment sparked not only a conversation, but a love story that has now lasted nearly three decades.

Love at First Flight

The future press secretary remembers the small but telling details, McMahon wasn’t wearing a wedding ring, and he had an irresistible British accent. “He was a handsome guy,” she recalls, while McMahon quickly adds that the spark was mutual.

What began as polite small talk soon evolved into a two-and-a-half-hour conversation that spanned world travels, Royal Air Force stories, and undeniable chemistry.

“We call it love at first flight,” Perino tells PEOPLE.

Long-Distance, Doubts — and the Decision to Leap

At the time, Perino was building her career in Washington, D.C., while McMahon was living in the UK. The distance, and their 18-year age gap, gave her pause.

“It was daunting,” she admits. “I had never pictured myself with someone older, and moving abroad felt like a huge step.”

But her loved ones were supportive, including her father, who believed an older man might be the grounding influence she needed. Still, it was a friend’s simple advice that ultimately guided her:

“Don’t pass up the chance to be loved.”

That message would later become a defining theme in Perino’s new book, I Wish Someone Had Told Me.

“That advice changed the course of my life dramatically,” she says.

Marriage and a Shared Life Across Continents

When her boss, a Colorado congressman, retired in 1998, Perino made a life-changing decision: she moved to England and married McMahon, just one year after meeting.

Ever the partner, McMahon assured her from the beginning that if she ever wanted to return to the U.S., he’d support the decision.

By 1999, the couple settled in San Diego, where Perino worked in public relations. But after 9/11, she felt called back to public service and returned to D.C., eventually rising to become the nation’s second female White House press secretary under President George W. Bush.

Throughout it all, McMahon remained a constant, not only as a spouse, but as an intellectual partner.

“He’s like the wizard behind the curtain,” Perino says, recalling how he often helped her research policy issues, including prepping her for Bush’s presidential visit to Israel.

A Partner in Every Chapter

Looking back, Perino credits much of her success to the relationship she once hesitated to pursue.

“Choosing to be loved is not a career-limiting decision,” she says. “Nothing I have accomplished would have been possible without him. It wouldn’t have meant as much.”

Now co-hosting The Five and America’s Newsroom on Fox News, Perino remains as busy as ever. But she and McMahon, now 53 and 70, make time for each other, just as they always have.

“There’s not enough time to do all I want to do,” she says, “and I really want to do a lot of things with him.”