Met on hinge.... No, but really. Matched on Hinge, Adrian saw Benita during mass at St. Albert the Great. Messaged her later on and said "I see you're catholic, where do you go to church?" 👀 (Adrian the investigator, he always wanted to be an FBI Agent) Benita confirmed to Adrian that she was Catholic and that was her in Mass over messages and they discovered they were actually in the same ministry!!! God is so funny😂

On January 15, 2024 it was a freezing Monday afternoon in Austin, Texas. The city was frozen over, quiet, and there was a Snow Day in effect. Adrian asked Benita to coffee. She was nervous to date someone from church, but thought at the very least they could be good friends. Two and a half hours later of non stop conversation and some laughs she was interested... and Adrian's only thought was, " Thank God, finally a girl who can hold up good conversation!"

Benita and Adrian had been going on dates for about a month and a half now. They had conversations for hours over coffee, mini golf, an escape room, and lonestar fireplace nights. Adrian's birthday was coming up and Benita wanted to take him to a drive-in movie so they could have a picnic. Unfortunately Austin weather hit and the plans were rained on. Benita pivoted and told Adrian they should go to iPic. No good movie selections, but settled on Argyle 🤧 *Benita is highly allergic to cats*. While the movie was nothing to write home about, Benita had special ordered a funny t-shirt (Adrian is a Hoot & Holler) and baked fresh cookies 😉 (Benita went to culinary school for patisserie) for Adrian. She surprised him with the gifts after and he was so surprised by the intentionality and felt so seen. He couldn't help but finally kiss her 💕

Adrian & Benita had been dating for about 2 months. One Sunday afternoon March 24, 2024 Adrian was catching up with his Best Man Ivan, and was raving about his time spent with Benita. They never talked about labels, just both shared that they were very content in life and wanted to spend time with someone that would supplement their lives. After reflecting with Ivan, Adrian realized his true feelings for Benita. He hung up with Ivan and called Benita... he said, " Can we talk, can I come over?" Benita was frazzled, but said that was okay. Adrian sat on the couch and poured his heart out saying, "I don't know if you're seeing other people, but I only want to see you." Benita was so happy spending time with Adrian, she hadn't thought about exclusivity but happily shared she only wanted to see him, too👫🏽

If you know Benita, you know she spent a lot of her adolescence watching teeny bopper dramas, specifically One Tree Hill, *cue "I don't wanna be anything other than what I've been tryna be lately" 🏀 Anyways, she got Adrian into the show. Benita always heard great things about Wilmington, North Carolina. Lots of her favorite shows were filmed there and it was beautiful. Adrian & Benita had mutually been craving a beach getaway. Adrian offered up spending a weekend there during his birthday. Morning of takeoff they set out for Austin Bergstrom Airport..... and missed their flight. Benita constantly told Adrian, " You find out you really like someone or not when you travel together" And boy, had she warned him. She was not the cheeriest after that. Adrian was patient, damage control, they got passes to the American Airlines lounge and spent hours doing what they love, chatting in deep conversations. They eventually made it to North Carolina. The delay actually scored them an upgrade on their car rental, stayed in the best little birdhouse Airbnb in walking distance to downtown Wilmington. The next night Benita took Adrian out for Sushi and had the waiter bring out a special dessert, candle, and sang to him. Adrian's heart swelled and he started to feel a deeper love for Benita ❤️

2025 was a growing year for Benita & Adrian's relationship. They started off the year strong with Adrian in Exodus90 and Benita in Fiat90. This season really rooted their spirituality as a couple. While they shared ministries and attended mass together frequently, it was through this specific time period where they began openly sharing their faith with scripture. They had made it a point to visit as many designated Holy Doors sites for the Jubilee Year as possible, praying for plenary indulgences and petitioning prayers for others. They kept talking about how making it to St. Peter's Basilica would be the absolute best way to close out the year. After so many conversations they decided to book the trip. Two weeks before heading to Italy, Adrian told Benita that he REALLY wanted to go to the coast, even though they were flying in and out of Rome, he told her a train to the coast was so doable. She was confused as all of their lodging had already been booked, and was nervous to shift plans around last minute. Adrian insisted it would be fine and he would take care of all of the bookings on the coast in Sorrento... He found a cute bed and breakfast with coastal views, right across from a church, and even made reservations at a restaurant for dinner. After dinner they went walking through the quiet and empty cobble stone roads, they were trying to find a way out to the beach, finally they found one! It was dark and a little chilly, they played in the sand for a bit and Benita pulled Adrian back to the cobblestone path. They continued to walk and do what they love most, deep long conversations. They came up on an overlook of the coast and saw all the twinkly lights in the sky across the way. Benita looked out and complimented the scenery and Adrian got down on one knee and asked Benita, "Will you marry me?" she was shocked, but excitedly said, "Of course! What hand does this go on?"💍 Little did she know, Adrian really wanted to propose on the beach, maybe it was the chilly water that gave him cold feet.