We needn’t have worried. Sarasota’s Hottest Husbands has turned out to be the most successful competition we’ve ever had. From the moment couples started arriving at our kickoff party at Saks Fifth Avenue in February, we realized we had a winner on our hands. Husbands were all over the place, working the crowd and charming the judges. Some were brash and some were shy; some were young and some were old. But just about every one was certifiably hot. And in the weeks that followed, the entries kept pouring in—via Internet, regular mail, even hand-delivered to our office.

By the time we got to the final stages of the judging, we had each developed our favorites, and there were times when the discussion got almost as hot as the guys themselves. But we persevered, scrutinizing every picture, analyzing each man’s pros and cons, and slowly eliminating contenders from the shrinking pile. American Idol never got so competitive. At one point, Sarah Daily, our marketing manager and one of the judges, exclaimed, “This is the most fun I’ve ever had at workl”

And in the process, we learned the true definition of “hot.” Yes, it’s about sexiness, whether that comes from model-perfect good looks or pure animal magnetism. But it’s also about heart, kindness, intelligence, humor, old-fashioned chivalry and all-out passion for life. Our seven hottest husbands have all that and more. They run the gamut from a Harvard-educated former Hollywood actor to an irrepressible 92-year-old who just happens to be confined to a wheelchair. But get out your hot-o-meters and see for yourself!

Eldon Johnson

His wife, Kristin, and our judges aren’t the only ones who think Eldon Johnson is hot. The blond, buff 38-year-old was cast as one of the Sweeney brothers on the TV show Caroline in the City a few years back, and people are always telling him he should be a model. But what people might be surprised to learn is that Eldon is as brainy as he is beautiful. A Harvard graduate who studied English literature (and made a perfect score on one part of the graduate LSAT test), Eldon is also deeply religious. He worked as a chaplain at Harvard before he went to Hollywood—and what initially drew him to L.A. wasn’t the bright lights, but the chance to run a charity organization.

He was doing the TV show by the time he met Kristen on a trip home to Ohio, but he soon decided being her husband was the role of a lifetime. The two spent their first six months together using their savings to travel around the world, then decided Sarasota, Fla., would be the perfect place to raise a family.

Now he develops real estate by day, and after he tucks their three little girls into bed, spends his evenings playing guitar, singing and writing (both songs and his first novel). And he’s not only creative and multi-talented, says Kristen—“he’s the sweetest, most thoughtful, romantic, loving man I’ve ever met—and of course, the hottest!”

Gordon Bratter

Any man can sweep a girl off her feet, but how many can still make her feel like a princess 46 years later? Gordon Bratter keeps the fires burning, says his wife, Sandra. The two met on a beach in New York when she was 16 and he was 24; they walked down to the water and came back holding hands, and it’s been a love story ever since. Sandra and Gordon worked together in his publishing company, raised a daughter, and 25 years ago, looking for a vacation spot in Florida with good tennis, discovered The Colony on Longboat Key. Now they spend winters at their condo at The Colony and summers in New York.

At “73 years young,” Gordon has the energy and vitality of a 28-year-old, Sandra declares, while his warmth wins him friends wherever he goes. (We saw that for ourselves at the kickoff party, where people clustered around the couple all night.) But the focus of his life is Sandra. “He makes me feel beautiful, young and desirable—and let’s face it, I’m 66,” she says with a laugh. She read us the card he just gave her for her birthday. Passionate, poetic and sexy, it burned our ears and warmed our hearts. “You are one of a kind and cannot be replaced,” Gordon concluded. “My love for you only gets stronger every year. I can face all problems as long as we are together and you are by my side.”