Sandra's (LLO webowner) encounter September 5, 2005 (Calgary, AB)
Carey, Leighanne's assistant made arrangements for me and my friend Lori to meet with Leighanne a couple of weeks ago and the day was finally here!

I hugged Leighanne and Carey and gave Leighanne the fan scrapbook and anniversary book. Leighanne gave me 2 HHC t-shirts! That was so sweet of her.  :  ) Lori took pics of me & Leighanne during our conversation and she chatted with Carey. They both looked cold and I told them it was chillier than usual and that Canada's not always cold! LOL I was wearing a white shawl and Leigh said she was glad to see me wearing it cuz she has one like it and some guy told her it looked weird cuz it wasn't a poncho (she was wearing a GREAT pink one).  I seemed so much taller than her in my 4 inch heels!  I made a remark about this and showed her my shoes - she loved them!  : )  She said she was hoping to go shoe shopping that day but the stores were closed (it was Labour day here). We talked about how the tour was going and I asked if she & Baylee are going on the European leg - they might for some of it. I asked if she was worried about Baylee being on tour and she is cuz fans can be overzealous about him. That's why she's always with him and won't let him out of her sight. She doesn't like that ppl are posting pics of him without her or Brian with him. I asked if he's enjoying the tour and she said he loves going to the soundchecks cuz he's on stage. She described how she tries to keep him in the back of the stage but he pick up his mike and stand and slowly work his way up to the front so he's singing with the guys.  :  )

I asked Carey how she liked working with the Littrells and she says she LOVES it - we laughed and said she had no choice but to say that cuz Leigh was right there. She's enjoying the tour but that dealing with fans can be overwhelming. Leigh said she tried to prepare her for it and explained it's nothing compared to the earlier tours when the guys were at their peak. She talked about how mean ppl were to her back then and one time in Italy or Spain, she, Mandy and AJ's mom had to wait for their van to pick them up and fans were booing and started throwing things at them! She said she's definitely paid her dues. Carey said that at a recent concert there was a woman who kept giving Leigh dirty looks.

Leigh described their bus. It's got an eating area & kitchen at the front, then 4 bunk beds in the middle and her's and Brian's bed at the back. Baylee sleeps in a bunk that has a bar across it so he doesn't fall out and Carey is in bunk right across from him. She was saying how she needed a bar on her bunk too cuz the ride the night before was so rough. LOL Lori & I explained that was cuz they were travelling through British Columbia and there's a lot of tight turns in the roads but that from now on the road would be flat cuz of the prairies. They were thankful for that! LOL Finally after years of e-mailing and talking I got to meet Leighanne!!

Sherri's encounter August 20, 2005

Hey my name is Sherri and I just got back from the BSB concert in Minneapolis. I have never really seen Leighanne before, but since I was a die-hard Brian lover since day one, I kind of didn’t like her ;P. I had only seen her In the As Long As You Love Me video so when we got to the Target Center I told my cousin that we should look for Leighanne in the front so I could see who Brian married. So we were sitting in the 12th row, and there were three empty seats in front of me. The show started and I saw a group of girls rush over to the side and I spotted a blonde carrying a cute curly haired tot. I realized it was Leighanne and Baylee, and I wanted to rush over since I know that would probably be the closest I’d ever get to Brian Littrell, but the side was too dark and I didn’t want to miss the beginning. Suddenly out of nowhere Leighanne (in a HHC shirt and a jean miniskirt) and Baylee (in a Kentucky basketball outfit and some Uggs) and another younger lady with red hair slipped into the seats in front of me. I noticed that Baylee had some earplugs in. I'm assuming they moved so it wasn’t so loud for him and her could see. So I watched her and Baylee dance and sing to every song. Then Baylee decided her wanted to run up and down the aisle. Security didn’t care for that too much, so he had to sit on the chair between them where he kicked and squirmed and tried to escape before Leighanne held him up to see his Daddy. He noticed and pointed to him while talking to his mom. Then he jumped on the seats for a few more songs until they went backstage again. I did manage to get some pics of the two watching the show, and I did ask Leighanne for a picture that she did take with me.. She didn’t say anything to me though, so I felt kind of stupid. I didn’t want to bother her, but I knew I'd never get the opportunity to get that close to Brian again! I have to say she is a very gracious and polite person, to put up with all of us bothering her during the show (even though I'm sure shes seen them a million times) and take pictures of Baylee when she knows we all want her husband!! LoL. So that’s my Leighanne encounter, and if you read this Leighanne…I'm sorry for bothering you during the show!!!

Fan comments from the BSB Atlanta concert on April 14, 2005:

From Yvonne: Leighanne, Baylee, Kristin and Brian's whole family in law was there. Cute little Baylee was dancing and all, headbanging to As Long As You Love Me! Brian said that before the show, Baylee told him backstage that he wanted to go onstage to dance too! Then Brian said to the audience "Uhm yeah........ make that next time son!" (forgive me if I don't quote right) It was funny! His mom, or mother in law, was rocking the concert away, like a fan would, was really cute to see. Both Brian and Kevin gave a nice shoutout to their wives. If I hadn't known it was Leighanne, I would've thought that she'd been a fan, she was dancing and singing all over the place!

From Jennifer: Leighanne and Baylee (he stayed out for the WHOLE show, but I'll get to that later), Kristin Richardson (*squeeeee* She's so gorgeous and she and Leighanne had SO much fun together), Leighanne's entire family... like 40 people... seriously; Johnny Wright.  While we're waiting for the show to start, Leighanne brings out Baylee and gives him to her family, who are pretty much passing him around among themselves. He just seems like the happiest, sweetest little guy! He's really, really tiny. And the rudeness of some people... they were taking pictures of him.  Again, I don't think you should ever take pics of somebody else's kid unless you ask. But anyway, then Kristin comes out and joins Leighanne, and Leighanne's entire family comes to the show and they all have this special area to congregate. Nobody was allowed to sit there, but Leighanne was SOOOO gracious to the fans who approached her, and she took time to talk to them instead of spending all her time with her family. She looked amazing, as usual, as did Kristin. During "Shout" Baylee was daaaaaancing! Oh man, he was LOVING that song. You could tell Kristin really liked it a lot too. Baylee was banging his head like a little heavy metal dude! It was adorable!!! During "As Long As You Love Me" Leighanne and Kristin were dancing and singing just like the rest of the fans. It was so sweet to watch them. They seemed to be having the best time together. AJ and Leighanne had this little pointing back and forth thing going. I don't know how to explain it. It's just obvious that they adore each other I noticed that at the golf tournament too.

Maria's encounter
(Cleveland Ritz hotel March 29, 2005)
We got ready in these girl's hotel room, because our check-in wasn't until 3:00 in the afternoon, so we got cleaned up just a tad and ran off to the at about 9:30 that morning. For a while, we just cruised through the mall that's hooked to the HOB, because we never told anyone else in line what we were doing... they would have been a tad pissed off, I'd say, lol. So after a bit we realized we had to go out and get by the hotel portion of the hotel, so we did. When we got there, there was a Guy (Who called himself an autograph collector), there were two girls, and a huge group of Guys (Who were waiting for the LA Clippers, lol) .... so we waited a while, and at about 11:00, Leighanne came walking out of the hotel, and she smiled and told us she had to get to the airport, and all of a sudden I see Brian pop his head out from near the hotel doors and he goes, "Ya'll be nice!" And Leigh stopped and smiled, so we could get a picture. I was having trouble with my camera and I'm just like... "Wait..... wait......" and she started laughing... needless to say, I never got a picture of her grinning for us, lol. But... Jesi had some pictures of Baylee, so Leigh rolled down her window and we gave them to her. She was in awe (I managed to get a picture of her going... "Awwwwww!") And then we started talking about the monkey that Jesi gave to Baylee and he never seems to want to let go of. She had a field day when we mentioned the monkey, she's like.... "It has a name! It's his AJ Monkey!" That... could have killed us all. So after a bit of talking, we let her go a long her way because she had to get home.They had to go to the studio, so we let them go. Kev, Brian, AJ, and Howie. Spent a h*** of a lot of time with Brian and AJ. Freakin' funny kids. Oh, and Leigh as well. Oh, it was good hounding. AJ left, and about 5 minutes later sprang from the truck and came back to us because Brian was still fooling around with us, so then we were stuck contemplating who's photo shoot the new promo pictures came from. Brian held up the "In Touch" article/picture and said... "Is this Andre?" Poor things were so clueless for a moment, and AJ came up with the fact that it was the JIVE promos, lol. Leigh was wonderful, even though she was rushing to the airport to fly back home. It was great, when Leigh came out and we all started talking to her, Brian runs out (I'm the only one that saw him. ) and he's like, "Ya'll be nice!" and he ran back into the hotel, because he'd just walked her down and that was all.

Amy's Encounter
(HHC Golf event June 30, 2003)
The best part about the golfing was Leighanne.  Lemme tell you, this girl is SO much fun to be around.  Anyone who doesn't like her needs to have their head examined, seriously!  She's one of the nicest people I've met in my entire life!  She was driving Brian's golf cart, and we had to walk behind, so every time we would walk up to her cart and start talking to her (even while they were holding the quiet sign!).  Leighanne referred to us as her "buzzing bees" because she said "She could hear us buzzing behind her and then she knew we were coming!" hehe.  She told us that none of the guys have seen Baylee besides Kevin (and that was only because they were together for their grandfather's funeral) and AJ (and AJ just saw him this weekend).  She said it's kind of sad in a way.  She also said that none of the guys sent in their response cards for their wedding and Howie was late!  She said when Brian and Leighanne opened the church doors after walking down the aisle, they ran into Howie and he was like "Ahh!!!" because he had been peeking in the church doors watching the wedding.  LMAO.

Someone asked if she was close with Kristin and she said not really, because they live in L.A. and Brian and Leighanne are in Georgia so they don't see each other very much.  She said Kevin and Kristin kind of do their own thing.  She did say that she hears that they have an AMAZING house in L.A., but Brian hasn't seen it yet.  She said that AJ told them it is absolutely gorgeous.  We were watching AJ and Brian golf, and Leighanne turned to us and said, "Doesn't AJ look good!"  We all nodded and she said, "He's been trying to gain weight and I think he looks great.  He looks so normal, no purple hair or anything."  Hehe!  Then I said "It's so great to see them having fun.  Together" (with the emphasis on together).  And she said "I know! That's the thing, they're TOGETHER.  It's great to see!"  Jesi showed her some pictures of Kevin with a mohawk.  lol.  And Leighanne busted out laughing and covered her mouth and she goes "That looks HORRIBLE! What was he THINKING?!?"  And I said that I think it looked the worst with the cornrows and she said "Ugh I know!" And I said, "I mean he looked like Snoop Dogg or something!" and she was like "Snoop Dogg!! Haha..."  Then we started discussing all of the guys' past hairdos, and she was talking about how good Howie looked in one picture, and then she said "Ugh I hated it when he had it all poofed out. He looked like a girl!" and she giggled.  She said, "Brian always looks good!" and we laughed and then I said "Yeah that's the thing about Brian, he never changes."  And she said that now he's starting to try to part his hair on the side and that she laughs at him.  Hehe.

Leighanne showed us her tattoo on her lower back and I asked her why she got a bow.  She said when Brian and her were dating, he kept on saying, "Come on baby lets get a tattoo together."  She said she was like no way, I'm NOT getting a tattoo! But her kept bugging her and finally she was like "Ok I'll get one when we're married."  But she told us that she NEVER thought they would get married.  So saying that was just a way to get out of it.  But when they did get married, she said she got a bow because she didn't want a normal tattoo... she wanted something girly and unique. And she said that she told Brian when she's 80 and all wrinkled and nasty looking, the bow means that she'll be "his present".  Aw!  Then we were talking about Brian and AJ's tattoos and she said that Brian is thinking about getting one of his removed.  I'm not sure which one though.  The next hole, someone asked Brian to show us his tattoos, so he pulled his sleeve up and everyone took pictures.  He made some comment like, "Well AJ doesn't have to pull his sleeve up to show you his!"  LOL! 

Leighanne also talked about how much she wants the group to be together again.  (So there goes the theory that Leighanne is responsible for the downtime of the group!)  She said she's trying to get them back together.  She told us that after Brian finishes recording, hopefully the group will be together in the winter.  We all responded that we miss them and she said, "I know. I miss seeing them together!"  Later, we got on the discussion of Jive Records.  She informed us that that is one of the main reasons for the problems.  She said, "Jive is raping them. It's horrible!"  She said that they can't get out but they are trying.  You could tell she was really disgusted.  She also said that she wishes we could hear the four songs that the group (I think it was just four of them) recorded.  She said they are SO good.  Somehow we got on the discussion of Carson Daly (I think it was because Jesi was talking about how her digital camera wouldn't work and it didn't work when they met Carson) She said, "Ugh I don't like him..." And she turned the other way to say why so I tapped her shoulder and said, "Why don't you like him?!" and she laughed and crossed her legs and said, "Ohhhhh so you want the DIRT huh?!?" And we laughed together.  I said, "Yeah! Gimme the gossip!"  She said that Carson made some comment about how much older she is than Brian and said that she looked like his "aunt".  She said that when she met Carson, she introduced herself by saying, "Hi, I'm Brian's AUNT" in a sarcastic tone and put her hand out like she was shaking his hand.  HAHA!  We were cracking up laughing and she said the look on HIS face was priceless.  He looked horrified.  She said that "He can dish it, but he can't take it when someone throws it back at him."  I told her that I remembered Carson saying something about that during the I'll Never Break Your Heart video... and she seemed surprised and said "You did?!"  She rolled her eyes and said that he's always been rude to her.  We were talking about how rude it was and what a jerk he is. Then someone said love doesn't have a number unless it's 15 years apart like Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher! Haha!  She laughed and said, "I know, but Demi looks GOOD! I saw her on the cover of People and man, I wish I looked like her!"

The guys holding the "quiet signs" were obviously burning up, so Jesi and I got on their good side by holding up our motorized fans to their necks and fanning them.  lol.  After a while, they just gave up on trying to get us to be quiet.  Leighanne had the quiet sign and she acted like she was going to hit AJ on the head with it.  At the last hole, we were talking to Leighanne about how a lot of us have gotten to be friends through BSB message boards and she seemed really touched by that.  She was like, "Did your parents let you come all the way here by yourself?  How old are you?" I told her I was sixteen and that my mom was general admission, and that she wasn't going to go but I told her that I really wanted her to be there when I met Brian.  She said, "Awww how sweet," and seemed really touched by that.  Then, we had to leave.  So we were SUPPOSED to just walk away, but Jesi and her friends wanted to do their singing thing to Brian, so I was responsible for videotaping it.  I asked Leighanne to hold my sunglasses and Diet Coke and she turned to Brian and said, "Baby - they want to sing something to you." So Brian turned around and I started recording while the Backstreet Quartet sang, "What Makes You Different" to him.  It was so sweet.  At the end, Brian was like "Watch your finger" because he thought I had my finger over the video recorder.  Hopefully I didn't!  It was really sweet.  So then AJ told us that he had to go so I waved goodbye.  I wanted to go ask him for a picture but then I was afraid Brian would be gone by the time I got back.  So, they were trying to rush us off because we were holding up all the other golfers behind us.  (By this time, there were 3 golf carts lined up waiting)  So Brian was signing autographs for us really quickly.  I got my VIP pass signed.  Then we asked Tim (the quiet sign guy) to PLEASE take a picture of Jesi and me with Brian.  He was like "I'm sorry to be the bad guy but we just don't have time."  But we BEGGED... lol.  So he's like, "Ok, last picture of the day!" So Jesi and I got with Brian and Tim took the picture.  It turned out SO cute.  I gave Brian a hug and I said "Thank you so much for everything...it was so much fun".  He told me thank you and said that we'll have to do it again sometime.  Then we went over to Leighanne and she said, "Bye girls!" and motioned for us to come in and hug her.  She gave us all hugs and she told us to have a safe trip back.  Right before I left, I said "Leighanne, get them back in the studio!!"  She said, "I'm trying!" and she did her hand like she was cracking a whip... it was so cute!  I was about to walk away and she said, "Umm don't you need these?" and handed me my sunglasses and Diet Coke!  I laughed and said, "Oops! Yes I do need them!"  We
waved goodbye and the press swarmed in on Brian as we were walking off (on the Lexington news that night, you could see us walking behind him in the distance).

Gretchi's Encounter

(HHC golf event June 21, 2004) see pictures from the event here
Leighanne, Jackie and Baylee were there!  I got there kinda too late! Argh!!  lol So I ran to get my camera and my Leighanne picture that I wanted her to sign. I got up to Leighanne and she was just about to get on the cart to join Brian! I said hi to Leighanne and told her who I was. She remembered me through emails! So she said hi back and gave me a hug. Aw. So then I asked if she would sign. She asked if I would wait till she gets back. I was like sure! After that, I held Baylee's hand to say hi. Aw he was SOOOO cute!!!

We had to move to another set of tables so the golf course ppl can set up lunch for the golfers, etc. So we just sat around, relaxed and talked and laughed about what has happened. A lot of group 1 has left. There were only about 10 of us. I talked to Nikki and Kelly for awhile, they were leaving so we got a picture together. Said our byes. We just looked at each other's pictures. That was fun. I got a picture with Brandon and Shay. Just goofing off lol Brandon was nice, but quiet!!! lol Anyway, I think we only waited for like 2 hours till the next group and boys finally came back! I saw Leighanne driving a cart and Jackie was holding a sleeping Baylee. They went inside. Then Leighanne came up to the tent with the Boys, etc. They were thanking us for coming and supporting, etc. Then they started the auction of Brian's 1st tour jacket, he said it was from 1997. It was orange too. I don't even remember seeing that!! lol Probably one of the overseas tours. Brian had fun doing the bidding voice and etc. I got it on tape lol AJ was like trying to buy it from him! lol Jumping up and down behind him, being crazy. Leighanne was standing by them too and her and AJ were being funny to each other. lol Joking around and making faces. They kept looking at the ground and I'm not sure who was down there, cause we were in the back. After that auction was over, I saw Shay talking to Leighanne so I went over there. She remembered that she had to sign my pic. I gave her an early bday card. She loved that! She mentioned to us that she was having a hard time hearing today and she doesn't know why. Aw. Shay mentioned that she's the same way and pointed to her ears. Leighanne said that "We'll you have a good excuse and I don't!" And I told her that I have them too and pointed to my ears. "You have a good excuse too! I should hang out with you guys more!" lol Aw. Then I had her sign this cute B&W pic of her that I've printed off the net.
Either her or some guy saw the pic and they asked 'Who's that beautiful woman?" She was talking about how beautiful she looked before she had Baylee. I was like "You still do"! She said thanks. I had her sign it to 'Gretch' and she was making sure if she was spelling it right. I was like "Yep!" and smiled. She smiled back. After that, we finally got a picture together! I just knew we were going to be close together lol She was cute, cause she was wearing a shirt like Brian's! I told her Thanks and that it was nice to finally meet you. She said Thanks and you too (I'm blank on that one too but I know she responded!) Then she was starting to get more ppl coming to her.

Then I started taking more pics of Leighanne, AJ, Brian, just to finish my camera lol plus my friends talking to whoever. I wanted to talk to Leighanne but she was being bugged still! Gr. I saw Harold and Baylee so I went up to them and took a pic of them. Then Ember took a pic of me w/ them. So cute!! Then I ran into Jackie! I asked if she could get a pic with me. She happily said sure! She's shorter than me!! That was weird lol Then I said it was nice meeting her and that she has a beautiful family. She was like, "That's so sweet"!  hehe. Took more pics, even a short video of Leighanne. I then saw these B&W photos of Leighanne and I got the chance to ask her about them. She only had a few and already ran out.  So she told me to go thru the club/Brandon to get one. Just when she said that, Brandon came over to her for something and she pointed at me. I think she was telling him about the photo I wanted. We'll have to see!! lol She went over to Brian and before she did that, I told her thanks again and that I'll email her later. I think she said Ok. She was kinda busy anyway. So we were just standing around, watching everyone. Took more pics then. Brandon was kicking us out so my friends came and got me. So I went to get my stuff, told Brandon thanks for everything and took one last picture of Leighanne.  I told Brian thanks as we were walking by him but I'm sure he didn't hear anyway lol 

I thought we were wanting to go back to the hotel, I didn't hear right that they all wanted to and I also thought they were getting hungry and wanted food. Oh well. We already checked out. We just went to Taco Bell and to the new hotel to relax. At the same time, I didn't want to bug them again at the hotel. But what happened was great! There were a few things that I wished that I had said but oh well. I wish (we) could've talked to Leighanne some more but like I said, people were always around her. GR. I mean Hello?? This was my FIRST time meeting Leighanne and have been waiting for FIVE years for that moment to happen!! So hopefully there'll be a next time that I'll meet her again and then I'll talk to her some more! That just makes us mad a lil. I just wish everyone would respect everyone else and give the new fans a chance!!

All in all, I'm REALLY glad I went to the event!! I'm SO happy that I finally met Brian, AJ, Leighanne, Baylee, and Brian's parents! And of
course, meeting Kevin again!! It was worth the short trip! I'll definitely go to another HHC event!! I know it's going to feel different seeing these 3 guys again, even in concert or on tv, in the future, cause we all got to see them upclose and personal!! 

Cheryll's Encounter:

(Kentucky Hall of Fame event February 19, 2004) see pictures from the event here. 
We got to the Civic Center and were seated at our tables. The line for the buffet was loooooong, and we stood in line for what seemed forever. We didn't see any of the celebrities around, and we started wondering if they weren't going to mingle like the program said. So we were approaching the buffet tables, and suddenly I realized that Brian was standing less than 8 feet away from us. LOL

Leighanne was with him, of course, and she was so beautiful. And let me tell you... I have never seen Brian looking better! He wore a dark pin-stripe suit and his hair was highlighted and curling a bit in the back. Gasp!

He looked over at me and said, "Hey!" I said hello back and we talked for a minute. Jackie and Harold were there as well, and they were all so gracious with their time.

Kayla was there with Kim, and Brian gave her the biggest hug and kiss, and she just beamed.  I was just standing there watching, and suddenly I looked to my left and Kevin was standing right beside me. LOL

I said hello to him, and he shook my hand and said, "I'm Kevin." LMAO!!! I said, "Yes, I know." Too funny.

Kevin was dressed in a dark suit and has a buzz cut now. It really brings out the green in his eyes.

We sang happy birthday to Brian, and he was waving his hands like he was conducting an orchestra. Then Nancy presented him with his present. He opened up the box and pulled out the quilt, UK side up, and he was like, "Oh wow!" Then we had him turn it over to the Georgia side, and Leighanne pumped her fist and said, "Yes!" LOL Then Kevin leaned in and said, "You better not show that side around here or you just might get yourself scalped!" LOL

Brian seemed to truly love the gift. And thank you again, Nancy, for a wonderful project!

Kevin had to leave, but Brian stayed around for quite some time and posed for lots of individual pics and some group pics. He was hamming it up and acting like it was a press conference. And then during one of the group shots, he said in this rather... how do I say... effeminate voice, "One more shot, please. One more shot." LOL

Then I asked if I could get a picture of him and Leighanne together and they were snuggling and kissing and it was just so sweet. Everyone got some great pics!

The award ceremony lasted a long time, but finally the Boys came up to receive their award, and it was a real tear-jerker.

Kevin went first, and he started to tear up almost as soon as he started. He talked about growing up in KY with his family and how his mother and father and brothers all influenced him in different ways with music, from southern gospel to Aerosmith to Ike and Tina Turner. He thanked his mother for singing in the car and for doing solos in church when he was a child. He thanked his grandfather for teaching him to "boogie down". LOL And then he talked about how he's been all over the world, but that Kentucky is still, and always will be, his home.

And lastly, he talked about how blessed he is to be able to do what he loves and that he hopes to make music until the day he dies.

Then he handed the microphone over to Brian, and he gave him a kiss on the cheek and a big hug. 

Brian started tearing up as well, especially when he talked about how so many of the older inductees had served in the military, and he talked about how his father had been in the Navy and how he taught Brian about taking pride in yourself and how you present yourself to others, and he thanked him for that.

Then he talked about how Kevin had called him out of class that day in 1993 and persuaded him to come to Florida. And then he talked about how he was in the Atlanta airport and how lost he felt and afraid, and how he called his brother, Harold, on the phone and asked him what he should do and Harold told him to go for it. And then he thanked Harold there on-stage and said that if it hadn't been for him, he wouldn't be where he is today.

Then he thanked the fans, and we all cheered, and he said, "Be looking for our new album this summer!" And as they walked off, the band was playing "I Want It That Way." 

Afterwards, we got to talk with Jackie and Harold again, along with Ann, and Kevin posed for pics and signed autographs. And he confirmed that the Boys have finished 5 songs and that recording is going really well. 

All in all, it was a wonderful evening! 

Cheryll

Allison's Story:

(September 30 '01 in Vancouver, BC) Oh my gosh, she is seriously THE nicest person I've ever met. I'm not exaggerating. She treats you like an equal. If you didn't know who she was (and she wasn't so pretty!) you'd have no clue she was a rich actress married to a Backstreet Boy, because she is SO down to earth, and really really nice. She does little voices and facial expressions that remind me of Brian, it's so cute. When my friend and I met her she was in a TINY massage and aromatherapy store called 'Saje' in the mall attached to our hotel, and she didn't have a bodyguard with her or anything, she was just shopping all alone. When we first walked into the store it was just her, us, and the 2 salesladies. She was asking one of them about everything, and she was so cute about all the stuff there. She kept going "Wow, that smells amazing! That smells like...a...bathroom, but...in a good way! It smells like my bathroom growing up!" We didn't want to bug her while she was being helped, so we just kinda went around and looked at all the stuff she'd looked at. She bought this aroma stuff for men, and I was like "Oh my God, Jen, that must be for Brian...Brian's gonna wear that stuff" - it was funny. The saleslady that wasnt helping Leigh asked us if we needed help, and I was like "Um, no...actually we're just waiting to talk to her...she's...married to a Backstreet Boy." And the lady was like "Oh my gosh, are you serious? She's so nice! I was wondering, because she's SO gorgeous!" lol...so then the saleslady left Leighanne to shop around the store, and Jennifer and I were right behind her at the time, so I just said "Um...Leighanne?" And she was bent over looking at some bath fizzies, so she stood up and smiled and said "Yes?" and I explained that I had a note for her from a fan I met in Seattle, and she took it and touched her heart and said "Oh my gosh, that's so sweet. Thank you so much." Then Jen asked for a picture and said "I'm so sorry if we're bugging you!" and Leighanne was like "Oh honey, it's no problem! I just gotta go pay for this stuff, I'll come right back to you!" So I said "Are you sure? I'm so sorry..." And she laughed and said "No, seriously! You girls are sweet! I'll be right back! But when I got off the elevator in the hotel all these fans attacked me, and I was like 'ahhh!'" (this was when she did the funny brian face and voice) So she walked over to the counter and bought a bunch of stuff, then came back to us and said "Girls, you ready?" And she took a pic. w/ Jen, then smiled at me and said "You want one too?" I was like "If it's okay!" And we took a picture together, then we had to go, so I was like "It was so nice meeting you! Thank you so much!" and Jen said thanks, and Leighanne said "Bye girls! Thank YOU for being so nice to me!" and I remember giving her this look of shock, lol. Because, how ANYONE could be mean to someone THAT nice was beyond me. Then when we were in the lobby later on, she came out to walk her dogs at 1:30 in the morning, and all the fans were yelling at her to take pictures and sign stuff, and she kept her head down because there were a LOT of girls, and she was like "sorry guys...I can't" (she had a bodyguard this time), and she left for a while, and Jen and I went outside, and she came back after a little bit, and all the fans started yelling again, but she still kept her head down. Then she looked up and saw me and Jen and she smiled and pointed at us and said "Hi girls!!!" and waved, then went inside and upstairs. No lie, she is the nicest person I've ever met.

Justine's Story:
I did not go to the Grammy's. Leighanne was the only "Backstreet Girl" there that night as far as I know. Leighanne was outside their hotel talking with Boyz II Men and laughing with them etc. So was Brian. Right after their chit-chat I went up to them along with a couple of other fans and we took pictures and got autographs. Leighanne was nice enough to take some pictures of the fans with Brian with their camera. How sweet of her!!! Eventually they had to leave and so they got in their car and drove away.

Patricia's Story:
Last year I went to Fort Lauderdale to see the BSB concert and I met Leighanne there, she was an angel with me and we took a photo together she talked to me and she was pretty nice, she is very beautiful in person, I will never forget the day I saw Leighanne and the Boys, I was like a dream come true, It was amazing. She sang and danced during all the concert and she was always looking at Brian.

Kristin's Story:
I met her on Jan.27th back at the ATL, GA BSB concert.  I was just sitting with my mom and saw a little blonde and was like.."Mom, is that Leighanne?"  (I am very slow on recognizing people) and so I finally decided to go say Hi. There were a few other girls there, and then a Bodyguard for the arena got all up in her face and all this crap went down..so FINALLY she told us girls to follow her, so of course we did.  Instead of asking for a picture with her since I was by myself, I asked for a hug. It's like her eyes lit up and she just grabbed me and we hugged. We were both saying "God Bless You" in each others ears. It was very sweet so after we ended the hug I was just gonna take a picture of her standing there, but she looked into my camera as well. I'm not complaining. :)  Then all the other girls left while she was talking so I walked with her for a few seconds and then I told her I needed to go back to my seat. (she was in a hurry to get backstage with the boys' doing their chant before they head out and I knew it so I decided to let her know that it's okay to run now LOL) and she did. If you are in the Online FanClub, in the ATL, GA video, you see her running back. :)   It was a very cute and fun encounter once the bodyguard problem went away. OH and how could I forget, I gave her a little "Congratulations letter" and when I gave it to her she held my hand and was all "Thank you so much sweetie" . She's such a cutie and oh so sweet.  I seriously thought she would have been taller too because I am 5 feet and I maybe had on shoes that were making me 5'2 or so   and she was even height with me exactly.

Brian arrived with some representatives of his Healthy Heart Club, plus some PR reps from the St. Joseph's hospital, his parents and Leighanne. The minute I saw her, I knew that all the rumours about their engagement were true, although more would be said later on. We all sat at our tables and smiled when they arrived, applauding politely. Before the director introduced Brian, he informed Brian of the various states and foreign countries that were represented there. Brian seemed particularly interested to know that a person from Canada was there! He then said a few words of welcome to us all. He chose not to use the microphone, but to stand between the two front tables and talk.

I wandered back to the table where Leighanne was chatting with a group of Mature Fan Club members. I introduced myself to her and Leighanne responded by smiling that perfect smile, shaking my hand, and expressing her sheer delight in seeing me there. (She's a perfect "first lady", if you know what I mean. She did and said everything to make us feel welcome and at ease!) Next I admired her ring which absolutely glistened in the lights! I could tell it was very expensive. I "ooooed" and "awwwwed" appropriately. It really seemed as though Leighanne was really enjoying "hanging with the girls" and chitchatting about "girl stuff". By the way, all the other four BSB's will be in the wedding party.

I saw that time was running short, so I excused myself and hurried back to the table where I had left my gifts. First, I went over to Jackie and gave her my gift of Canadian items. She thanked me repeatedly, then insisted that we have a photo taken together by the Polaroid Lady. Poof! It was done!

While I had been talking to Jackie and Leighanne, others in the room had had their chance to ask Brian a variety of questions. Tina, another Mature Fan Club member, whom I had the privilege to meet and socialize with that weekend, presented Brian with an afghan that she had made in less than two weeks. He thanked her with a hug and a kiss, as we all applauded approvingly.

Not knowing if I would get close enough to Brian again, I decided to pass on a gift to Tyk through Leighanne. I ran back to Leighanne, and broke into the conversation as soon as I could, explaining all about Leah and Marg and their gift. Leighanne was tickled at the idea of a gift for the Chihuahua, and said to say "thank you" from Brian and Tyk.

While I was standing next to Leighanne, Brian approached the table and asked if anyone had a question. Leighanne put up her hand and asked, "Have you had highlights put in your hair?" Brian looked a little sheepish, and nodded yes. Leighanne asked, "Who's idea was that?" Brian looked straight at her, beaming, and said, "A beautiful girl told me to do it!" She just beamed back at him. *sigh*