Woman Wakes up from Coma & Doesn't Recognize Her Husband - She Learned to Love Him Again

After Krickitt Carpenter and her husband, Kim Carpenter, got into a car crash, their lives were changed forever. Kim went into a coma, and when she finally woke up, she couldn't remember anything of her life with Krickitt before the accident. Slowly, she had to get to know the man who was once her husband again.

Krickitt Carpenter had an experience that seemed to have been pulled directly from the plot of a romantic comedy. She met her husband, Kim Carpenter, in 1992, and they tied the knot in a beautiful ceremony in 1993. Shortly after, their lives were completely upended.

A mere ten weeks after they said their vows, Kim and Krickitt got into a serious car accident. The pair had set out to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday with Krickitt's parents in Arizona. On the way, the actress tried to pass a truck when a pickup truck rammed into their car from behind. The impact sent them out of control.

Krickitt and Kim's car flipped over, landing on its roof. When responders arrived, they had to cut the pair out of the vehicle, and Krickitt was completely unconscious. Although they both survived the crash, Krickitt was in a coma for four months.

Despite Kim and Krickitt finding their way back to each other, things took an unexpected turn after many years of marriage.

When she finally woke up, Krickitt had no idea where she was or how she got there. She commented, "I knew nothing until I awoke from a coma almost four months later, with no idea where I was or what had happened."

Krickitt had suffered brain damage, which caused her to lose much of her memory. She had no recollection of her marriage, and Kim mentioned, "Not only did she not remember that we were married, but she didn't even recognize me."

Her husband was devastated, of course, but said he was mostly relieved to see his wife up and conscious again. Slowly, Kim had to introduce himself again.

A Slow Road to Recovery

Kim, distraught at seemingly losing his wife after all, decided to introduce himself to her again gradually. He went to see her often and pushed her to do physical therapy, but things weren't going well between them.

He shared that even though Krickitt was a former gymnast who could perform impressive feats, she could barely stand up after the accident. Kim couldn't bear seeing her incapacitated, so he stepped in and encouraged her to get better. But Krickitt still had no idea who he really was, and they often butted heads. Kim said:

"She hated the therapy, and she hated me for making her do it. She kept telling me: 'I don't know you, go back to where you came from.' We really didn't get along."

Eventually, however, things started looking up. They went to couples counseling together and started dating all over again. They went out to dinner, saw a few movies together, and went on long walks, all the while trying to rebuild the relationship they once had. After a long time of trying to salvage their relationship, Krickitt started developing feelings for Kim. She recalled:

"Slowly, over time, my love did grow for Kim deeply, but it was never a fluffy, gooey falling-in-love feeling again. My heart didn't skip beats; I didn't feel swept off my feet. I would love to have felt that, but it isn't the truth - I made a choice to love him."

The two managed to fall in love for a second time, and in 1996, they renewed their vows. In 2000, Krickitt and Kim welcomed their first child, a boy they named Danny Carpenter. Three years later, they had a daughter, Leann Carpenter. Kim and Krickitt's story was also adapted into the 2012 film, "The Vow."

The two spent the next few years building their lives together. They raised their two children, and it seemed that their life was almost as perfect as the film they inspired suggested. Ironically, despite Kim and Krickitt finding their way back to each other, things took an unexpected turn after many years of marriage.

An Unexpected End to the Love Story

Krickitt and Kim spent 25 years together. They raised two children and held on to their vow to stick together no matter what. But after more than two decades together, things veered off the path of the perfect love story that they were seemingly on.

In October 2018, Krickitt confirmed that they were getting a divorce. The mother of two spoke to Inside Edition about the decision to end her marriage to Kim, saying it all happened unexpectedly. Krickitt revealed their marriage came crumbling down after she found out her husband was having an extra-marital affair. She commented:

"Kim was having an affair. I never thought that [this] is the road I would ever go down because I made a vow for life."

Krickitt didn't reveal the identity of the woman and refrained from elaborating on how the entire situation played out. However, she did comment on how shocked she was when she found out about the affair. It caught her completely off-guard as she never expected something like that from Kim:

"I kind of... just figured it out. It was shocking and surprising to me because we were so committed to each other and to the vow."

Following the separation, Krickitt moved in with their daughter, Leann, while Kim and their son, Danny, took up residence together. But even though what seemed like the perfect love story didn't work out in the end, Krickitt hasn't lost her optimism.

After losing her memory, reconnecting with her husband, and going through a divorce, Krickitt is still looking forward to the good things in life. Despite how it ended, she's grateful for the years she had with her family. Krickitt is glad that she has her children, whom she adores greatly, noting, "I am thankful for the 25 years that I had."

Want more like this? Click here to read about a girl who woke up from a coma only to find out her fiancé had left her for another woman.