<http://schema.org/articleBody>
"  By Lindsey Palmer, Leticia Frazao, Laurel Leicht, and Nicole Yorio Ray Sorensen, 30 Greenfield, IA Graphic designer and painter Married 3 years to Maria, 24 THE ART OF A GREAT MARRIAGE  It was Ray Sorensen&amp;#039;s sensitivity that first won over his wife, Maria, so after two years of dating, she was shocked and a bit upset when, despite her broken nose and stitches from a softball accident, he dragged her to the Iowa State Fair for a Sara Evans concert. But Maria cheered up fast when Ray surprised her with a larger-than-life proposal \u2014 the moment was captured on the big screen, and the singer stopped her show to congratulate the newly engaged couple.  The pair tied the knot in 2007, and three years later, they still can&amp;#039;t get enough of each other \u2014 they even share workdays at the graphic-design company they run in Greenfield, IA; Maria handles the photography and Ray creates original artwork and does graphic design. &amp;quot;We&amp;#039;ve always been a great team, so it was a really easy decision to open a business together,&amp;quot; Maria says. &amp;quot;It&amp;#039;s wonderful to be able to spend all day with the guy I love. We bring our dogs, Reagan and Lincoln, up to the studio, and someday we want to bring kids there too.&amp;quot; Maria is in awe of Ray&amp;#039;s artistic passion and the amazing impact he&amp;#039;s had on their community. &amp;quot;My husband puts on a tough-man front, but he shows his romantic side through his artwork, especially the murals,&amp;quot; she says. &amp;quot;I&amp;#039;ve never met someone so inspired.&amp;quot; It all began in 1999 when Ray, a lifelong history buff (note the dogs&amp;#039; names!), saw Saving Private Ryan in the theater. &amp;quot;I thought, Wow, how lucky am I that this is as close as I&amp;#039;ve gotten to war?&amp;quot; Ray remembers. &amp;quot;I wanted to do something.&amp;quot; So the following Memorial Day, he found a prominent boulder in town and painted it with a war scene that read, &amp;quot;Thank you, veterans, for our freedom.&amp;quot; Honored and moved, a group of local veterans presented Ray with a flag and asked him to repaint the boulder each year with a new design to honor the U.S. troops. Word got around about what became known as the Freedom Rock, and Ray began receiving requests to paint patriotic murals nationwide.  Ray also uses this very public forum to privately express his love for Maria: &amp;quot;I hide love notes for her in every piece of art,&amp;quot; he says. &amp;quot;Sometimes I&amp;#039;ll write little messages, sometimes I&amp;#039;ll include symbols, and other times I&amp;#039;ll etch in our initials. It&amp;#039;s my way of keeping our love alive eternally.&amp;quot; Go to redbookmag.com/hothusbands to meet the finalists, last year&amp;#039;s winner, and more sexy hubbies we&amp;#039;re swooning for.  What makes him so hot: &amp;quot;Ray is 6-foot-3 and I&amp;#039;m 5-foot-3, so he towers over me, which makes me feel safe,&amp;quot; Maria says. &amp;quot;I love how just by wrapping his arms around me, he can guard me with his whole body.&amp;quot; How he feels about his big win: &amp;quot;I knew there were a lot of good guys up for the prize, but we couldn&amp;#039;t be more excited,&amp;quot; Ray says. &amp;quot;The vacation [a 7-day, 6-night getaway to St. James&amp;#039;s Club in Antigua] is a bonus because we never got to go on our honeymoon. We&amp;#039;d saved up, but 10 days before the wedding, our dog Reagan got hit by a car, so we ended up using the money on his vet bills. We were happy to save our dog, but it will be so great now to get away with my wife.&amp;quot; What the guys said: &amp;quot;My old frat brothers gave me a laundry list of things they&amp;#039;d do to help me win, like sending out mass emails and posting about it to their Facebook pages, but I got a lot of crap, too,&amp;quot; Ray says. &amp;quot;They called me Hubba Bubba, Coverboy, and REDBOOK Rock Star.&amp;quot; How they keep their marriage strong: &amp;quot;It&amp;#039;s about honesty, and my dad likes to say that you can&amp;#039;t separate Maria and me with a crowbar,&amp;quot; Ray says. &amp;quot;Most people say they&amp;#039;d go crazy owning a business with their spouse, but we thrive off it.&amp;quot; His most romantic gesture: &amp;quot;Ray doesn&amp;#039;t just hide love notes for me in his murals,&amp;quot; Maria gushes. &amp;quot;He also surprises me by penning our initials all over the house. He never tells me, but when I find them I always smile at the sweet gesture.&amp;quot; The award he&amp;#039;d give Maria: &amp;quot;America&amp;#039;s Most Compassionate Wife, because she&amp;#039;s got such a big heart,&amp;quot; Ray says. &amp;quot;She loves her nieces and nephews and adores animals; one day she wants to start a dog rescue.&amp;quot; What he wants women to know about men: &amp;quot;When a man gives you a compliment, you should know that he means it and say, &amp;#039;Thank you,&amp;#039;&amp;quot; Ray says. &amp;quot;Even if you don&amp;#039;t think you look good that day, he really finds you attractive, and you should believe him.&amp;quot;  IS YOUR HUSBAND THE HOTTEST? Beginning June 21, 2010, enter him in our 12th-annual Hottest Husband contest! You could win an 8-day, 7-night trip for 2 to the all-inclusive Valentin Imperial Maya Resort in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, including 3 meals a day, all drinks, 1 romantic dinner on the beach, a swim-with-dolphins experience at Delphinus Riviera Maya, a $100 gift certificate to boutique shopping mall Luxury Avenue Cancun, a $50 gift certificate to cosmetic boutique Ultrafemme, and 2 $300 airfare vouchers. Approximate retail value: $6,500. To enter, tell us in 500 words or fewer why your guy is so hot, and include three recent photos. For details, go to redbookmag.com/hothusbands2011. More Hot Husbands: Hot Husbands 2010: The Runners-Up This Year&amp;#039;s 22 Finalists America&amp;#039;s Hottest Husband 2009 More Sexy Husbands "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.redbookmag.com/love-sex/relationships/a6191/hottest-husband-winner-2010/>