LEWISTON – After her divorce, Linda Britt said she’d never fall in love again. She’d never marry.

She even wrote a Community Little Theater musical about ex-wives fantasizing about killing their ex-husbands.

But love would not let her go.

She and Stan Spilecki are newlyweds, married on New Year’s Day.

Britt, 51, is a Spanish professor at the University of Maine at Farmington. Spilecki, 42, is a partner in River Valley Machinery in East Livermore. They credit Community Little Theater for bringing them together.

She’s past president, has written and directed plays. He acts and designs stage sets. They talk about past events using plays for timelines.

They first met during “Pippin.” In those days they were married to other people.

After their divorces, they became friends. The last thing Britt thought she needed was a romantic relationship.

“I was very happy being single,” she said. “I spent a lot of time at the theater. I had my kids; I had a job I loved. I wasn’t looking for anyone.”

Despite that, her friendship with Spilecki grew. He nervously asked if she wanted to try dating. Before she agreed, they took a walk by the river. They talked about their reservations, how past relationships ended.

“She said she didn’t think she’d fall in love again, she’d never get married again,” he said. “I loved her honesty.”

By July 2006, they were headed toward marriage.

Before the proposal, Britt and Spilecki talked with their children and got their blessings.

When picking a wedding date, “We had to negotiate with children, exes and everybody else in the world,” he said with a laugh.

Seventeen months after they began dating, they married at the Court Street Baptist Church. The Rev. Rick Messana (he played Tevya in “Fiddler on the Roof”) officiated. Britt’s son gave her away. Her daughter was maid of honor. His daughters were bridesmaids.

They kept it small and simple, but there was drama.

“There wasn’t a dry eye,” Spilecki said.

The couple feels lucky. “We know what we’ve found,” she said.

He admires her intelligence, enthusiasm and boundless energy. “When she gets hopping mad, she actually hops. I love that.”

She finds him “incredibly attractive.” She admires his passion for the theater and that he’s a wonderful father.

Britt now laughs about her “never again” vow.

“Well, then he came along,” she said. “I couldn’t help myself.”

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