For Miranda and Kyle, home has rarely been tied to one place.
The professional actors and musicians have spent much of their 11-year relationship traveling the country for theater work, living in cities including Denver and Chicago and, for a time, taking their home with them while traveling full-time in a converted Ford Transit van.
Now, their travels have brought them somewhere Miranda knows especially well: back to Geneseo and into the house where she grew up.
And this week, the couple is hoping their hometown will help carry them a little farther in another journey — the nationwide America’s Favorite Couple competition.
Miranda Lipes and Kyle Lahr
As of Tuesday evening, Miranda and Kyle were ranked third in their competition group. Only the first-place couple automatically advances from the Group Finals to the Quarterfinals, with voting in the current round ending Thursday, Aug. 13, at 9 p.m. Central.
For Miranda, returning to Geneseo wasn't necessarily part of the plan.
After living in Denver beginning in 2017, the couple briefly moved to Moline in 2021 before embracing full-time travel. Kyle's work eventually brought them back to Illinois and Chicago in 2024.
Then, as they considered settling down again, a longtime Geneseo family friend contacted Miranda with some unexpected news: her childhood home was for sale.
“How many chances do you get to buy back your childhood home?” Miranda said.
They decided to take the opportunity.
Returning has allowed Miranda to see the community differently than she did growing up.
“When I was younger, I wanted to see what else the world had to offer,” she said. “I felt like I needed to get out, take some risks, and try some new things.”
She still wants to follow those dreams, she said, but now appreciates having Geneseo as the place they return to — particularly knowing the house will remain in her family lineage.
“The traditions, the friendliness, the camaraderie,” Miranda said. “It literally feels magical to live here, sometimes.”
A Love Story Built on Music — and the Road
Miranda and Kyle's story began in 2015 while both were working at a summer stock theater in Meredith, New Hampshire.
Miranda was splitting her time between stage management and playing trumpet in the pit orchestra. Kyle was playing electric and upright bass.
The musical connection helped bring them together, although Kyle remembers another moment particularly well: watching Miranda show off her hula-hooping skills in a Dollar General.
They spent the summer together before their contracts sent them in different directions. A few months later, Miranda traveled to Maryland to meet Kyle, and following a date at the National Zoo, they officially became a couple.
They've been navigating the unpredictable life of working performers together ever since.
Their careers have included periods of long-distance work, frequent travel and the constant process of auditioning and searching for the next job.
More recently, they've increasingly found opportunities to perform together.
Among their favorite shared experiences have been productions centered on Buddy Holly, with Miranda acting and performing keyboard and trumpet while Kyle played bass as one of Buddy Holly's Crickets.
They have also begun working together on camera, including a commercial filmed in St. Louis and advertisements recorded as a duo.
For Kyle, life in regional theater can mean rehearsing from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. for nearly two weeks, followed by 12-hour technical rehearsals and then performances several days each week.
“And part of every job is looking for the next job,” he said.
A Second Shot at the Competition
This isn't Miranda and Kyle's first attempt at becoming America's Favorite Couple.
They entered the competition during its inaugural year in 2025, when they were placed in a group of approximately 75 couples. They reached the Top 10 in their group before being eliminated prior to the Top Five.
They decided to try again in 2026 — and this time they've made it farther.
“I think what's surprised me the most about the experience is how kind everyone has been,” Miranda said. “The other competitors are very humble, very sweet, and really just want to shout their love story from the rooftops.”
America's Favorite Couple is operated by Colossal Management as a fundraising campaign on behalf of Action Initiative Team, a 501(c)(3) public charity. Donations generated through the competition benefit the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank and ocean conservation organization Oceana. Voters may cast one free vote every 24 hours, while additional votes can be obtained through donations.
The competition raised nearly $4 million during its 2025 campaign, according to Colossal. The Los Angeles Regional Food Bank reported receiving more than $1.9 million from that campaign for hunger-relief efforts.
The Push to Thursday
For Miranda and Kyle, the immediate goal is simple: get from third place to first.
The Group Finals conclude Thursday. First-place finishers advance to the Quarterfinals, scheduled for Aug. 17-27. Couples finishing second receive another opportunity through a Wildcard Round Aug. 14-16. The Semifinals follow Aug. 28-Sept. 3, with the Finals scheduled for Sept. 4-10.
The eventual winning couple will receive $20,000, a photoshoot and advertorial telling their story in Variety, and a Hollywood dinner experience with Jeff and Emilie Goldblum and Charlie Day and Mary Elizabeth Ellis.
For two working actors and musicians, the Hollywood experience has obvious appeal.
But the $20,000 would serve a considerably more practical purpose back in Geneseo.
Their childhood-home-turned-new-home needs work.
“We have to install new floors and windows and it would make a world of difference,” the couple wrote on their competition profile.
And should their story eventually make it into the pages of Variety, Miranda said they'd be happy to bring a little piece of Geneseo along for the ride.
For now, however, they're focused on Thursday.
“Thanks for those who have already been voting,” Kyle said. “We can see your names pop up when you submit a vote — we really appreciate you for that.”
Voting for the Group Finals ends Thursday, Aug. 13, at 9 p.m. Central.
Readers can view Miranda and Kyle's story and vote through their official competition profile: