A dozen years after meeting at a Bible study, Carlos and Alexa PenaVega are still in love, still focused on their faith, and still making wholesome content that the entire family can enjoy. But as Carlos acknowledges, it took him a while to get Alexa’s attention.
“I was into her, but she was not into me,” Carlos told Crosswalk Headlines.
The couple co-star as an on-screen couple in a new Great American Pure Flix movie, Mr. Manhattan, which launches May 24. Their real-life romance, though, mirrors the plot of a romantic film.
“It was my first time at Bible study,” Carlos said of the first time they met. “I had just recently gone to church. The week before, I got saved – it changed my whole life. I was in a crazy rut and I was like. ‘I’m giving my life to God.’ A friend invites me to this Bible study. My ex-girlfriend was there. I was like, ‘Well, maybe I’m supposed to get back with my ex-girlfriend. Maybe that’s what’s supposed to happen.’ But Alexa, it was her first time at the Bible study. And we just connected briefly – nothing happened. And then we kind of just started hanging out nonchalant.”
For Alexa, sparks did not fly – at least, not immediately. At the time, she preferred tall men.
“He was everything I never knew I wanted,” she said.
“I was very persistent,” Carlos said. “We would hang out and go to church on Sundays and go to Bible studies on Thursday nights.”
Their walk with Christ, they say, was the reason they fell in love.
“Everything we would do revolved around our faith,” Alexa said. “And it was awesome, because God really set our foundation in Him together. And we were just able to continue to grow on that. And I think that’s also why we’ve been able to get through some very interesting times in our lives, let alone in the industry as a couple.”
“Our faith,” Carlos said, “is everything.”
In Mr. Manhattan, Carlos portrays a businessman whose life is turned upside down when he learns his brother and sister-in-law have been tragically killed – and he’s been placed in charge of raising their two children. It is the 10th time or so, Carlos said, that he and his wife have portrayed an on-screen couple.
“Carlos is such a light-hearted guy,” Alexa said. “He likes to keep the energy fun and exciting. And it makes the set so much easier.”
Alexa may be best known for her roles in the Spy Kids movies, while Carlos became a well-known name for his role in the Nickelodeon series Big Time Rush (which is also the name of his music group). All total, they have more than 150 project titles to their names.
They have a passion for family-focused content.
“Something that is becoming harder and harder that we’re really trying to get a handle on, is keeping things safe for the family and keeping things pure for the family, including content for children,” Alexa told Crosswalk Headlines. “I think it is getting harder and harder for parents to navigate. Like: Is this going to be okay for my kid? Because the standards are changing so much to what is considered family-friendly now and what isn’t.
“So our goal is to truly kind of bring back that old-school ‘90s feel of movies where you know it’s safe, you know you don’t have to worry, it feels good, but it’s also – you get a lesson out of these movies, you learn something really valuable, and something you can really take home and talk about together as a family after.”
They’ve been married 11 years and have three children. Carlos said he’s looking forward to 50 more years of marriage. Alexa has bigger goals.
“At least 70,” she said, laughing.
Photo courtesy of the PenaVegas
Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
