Gay ‘Supermarket Sweep’ Couple Are ‘Just Really Moved’ by Fan Response to Their 41-Year Romance

Tim Leach says he and partner Mark Dammann are loving the response from fans after footage of their Supermarket Sweep appearance resurfaced online.

“A lot has changed since we were on that show as far as gay couples and being on TV and things like that,” Leach, 64, said in an interview with People published on Wednesday, July 31. “So it's not surprising that people have some interest in that and it’s been kind of fun, actually.”

Leach and Dammann competed together on the grocery-themed game show Supermarket Sweep in 1991. According to Leach, they joined the show as a way to make some extra money. The couple introduced themselves on the show as “business partners” who “design sets for plays,” but a social media user who caught a rerun of the episode saw right through their facade.

“I love watching old episodes of Supermarket Sweep because these two just said they’re 'business partners' who 'design sets for plays' and I’m like oh I’m sure (sic),” the fan wrote via X on Sunday, July 28.

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Leach and Dammann now live in Chicago and work as flight attendants, but they ran their business designing and painting backdrops for plays together for nearly 30 years. The pair met in Galveston, Texas before moving to Southern California together, and got married in 2008. They wound up on Supermarket Sweep in their early days of living in the Golden State.

“While we were just getting to know California, it was very exciting to see in the Los Angeles Times , there were listings in the newspaper for game show contestants," Leach told People . "It is different than it is now, I guess. And we just said, this would be kind of a fun way to make some money. Let's just go on these shows and see if we can try to win something. That was the first one. And then, actually, Mark was on Win, Lose or Draw too.”

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Supermarket Sweep ran from 1990 to 1995 and saw contestants answer trivia questions and compete in a timed race to fill their shopping carts at a supermarket. Leach and Dammann didn’t win their race in 1991, but they still have fond memories of their time on the show.

“We were just really moved that that many people had so many positive comments to make and we're moved and touched by the story," Leach gushed. "You tend to forget that being together for 41 years is kind of a big deal for anybody.”