Although Moulton was pregnant with his child, Garvey proposed to Rebecka Mendenhall, telling Rebecka about Ms. Moulton in November 1988. Garvey and Mendenhall had been in a relationship since August 1986 cross country. He claimed to have asked her to become engaged because of what he termed her "ultimatum" to move on.
In January 1989, Garvey also became engaged to Candace Thomas, whom he met at a benefit for the Special Olympics. He broke the engagement with Mendenhall in a phone call the night of January 2,. Their only child, Slade, was born October 13, 1989.