Jess and Dan first met at work in 2020 when they were both living in Shreveport, Louisiana. Their interaction was short and sweet as they met days before Jess’ first deployment. It wasn’t until almost 1 year later in March of 2021 that Jess and Dan were reintroduced through coworkers and mutual friends. The pair hit it off quickly: getting lunch together during the week, finding mutual projects to collaborate on at work, running errands together, working out together, and hanging out together for endless hours on the weekends. In June of 2021, Jess and Dan were serendipitously both slated for a 2-month long temporary duty in Spain - knowing that immediately upon returning to Louisiana, Jess would be moving to North Carolina for her next assignment in the Air Force, while Dan had 1 year remaining on his assignment in Louisiana. During their time together in Spain, the couple fell more in love and became so much closer that they decided to “go the distance” and continue the relationship after Jess moved across the country. After she moved in August of 2021, the couple were tested as Jess completed a rigorous 10-month training pipeline while Dan overcame some of the most stressful challenges of his career - each of them learning to care for one another during times of intense stress and how to be good partners even over the distance. During that period, Dan applied for and was approved to move on to his next Air Force assignment - also located in North Carolina! To celebrate this news, the couple booked a vacation to Italy in September of 2022 - where they got engaged! Dan asked Jess’ parents for her hand in marriage months earlier (over Father’s Day weekend) where he received their blessing as well as Jess’ Great-Grandmother’s diamond engagement ring. Dan thoughtfully re-set the heirloom stone into the ring Jess wears today. Finally, on Halloween night in 2022, Dan moved to North Carolina. They briefly enjoyed living together until Jess deployed again in the spring of 2023. Now, the couple happily share a house together with their dog, Buddy!