In 2019, I was doing what a lot of polyamorous people in their young 20s do and swiping on Tinder. I came across Erica's profile and was immediately enamored. A gorgeous lawyer, slightly older than me, with beautiful curly hair and a bio that read "normal is no fun". The next day, I got a notification that Erica had matched with me. I didn't want to miss my shot so I asked if she was free for a date that evening and the fates aligned and she was. Erica suggested a hip bar I had never heard of and I was immediately impressed. The date lasted over four hours in stereotypical queer fashion. Our night ended with a kiss and sparks and immediately I was hooked. After a few months of dating I was still in shock that this beautiful smart woman wanted to spend her time in my messy apartment full of roommates and mismatched furniture or adventuring around a city we had both lived in for years. I decided it was time to see if we could make things official. I asked her to lunch naming that I wanted to discuss some things. Turns out Erica also had a lot to discuss. I asked her to be my partner, she said yes, and then told me that she just found out that in a month she would be moving to London for a year. We opted into our future whatever it may hold. We didn't know at the time that Covid would hit and we'd end up having an international long distance relationship for three and a half years. We face-timed constantly and because of travel bans in place were only able to squeeze in visits around once per year. Most folks know the rest of our story but here's a quick recap. In 2022, I took some time off work and went to London to spend a month with Erica. We fell even deeper in love and when Erica's visa ended a few months later she moved back to the US. We moved in together, continued to travel together, and Erica became the mom to our perfect senior pitbull named Penelope. My story of our relationship has been basically the same over the last 6 years. I've been pining over this gorgeous, caring, loving, creative woman since I met her and finding myself blessed that she's agreed to spend her life with me. I frequently find myself flashing back to 22 year old Ab walking up to the date and reminding them that everything works out better than we could've dreamed. I look forward to shooting out of my league for the rest of our journey together and making sure to continue to charm her with my cooking skills, witty jokes, and peak planning abilities.

I was immediately intrigued by the bleach blond, preppy enby that was spontaneous enough to meet up with me that very night after only a couple of messages back and forth on a dating app. On that first date, we met up at a cozy, dark bar that I knew would be conveniently located for both of us. I was late, they were on time - no surprises there. What did feel surprising was how easily our conversation flowed, how aligned we were on our values and how absolutely brilliant, hilarious and charming Ab could be. Our lived experiences were drastically different and yet Ab seemed to really see me. The second date showed me that Ab was also creative, goofy and ALWAYS committed to the bit. There’s a YouTube video of Ab in a heated dance-battle with a literal child in case you need to see the evidence with your own eyes. Even today I know that a date with Ab is going to bring something new, exciting and right up my alley. Moving to London was, at first, lonely. Ab kept me company and made me feel special via Facetime, Whatsapp and the more-than-occasional delivered bouquet. While far away due to lockdowns, I watched them build their own furniture, perfect their thirst trap lighting, build and grow support for their political campaigns and, overall, grow into the impressive force that we all know and love. As soon as we were able, we hopped right into a honeymoon phase to top all honeymoon phases. Ab came to visit, we travelled, I went to visit and we still couldn’t get enough of each other. Any flight that would separate us (Ab heading home, me heading back to London) inevitably got pushed back. Now that we live together, I cannot express how grateful I am to be building a life with this absolute powerhouse. They have taught me what unconditional love truly looks like and I am so excited to celebrate ours with all of you. Below is a picture from March 2019 on our second date that Ab planned