Two kids met on Raya on May 11, 2023, and matched each other's conversational skills. I was drawn to Coy's vivid, colorful vocabulary, and perhaps he was charmed by someone who could meet his wit with playful banter, tempered by just enough sincerity to make it meaningful. It felt serendipitous like destiny had quietly conspired to bring us together. I landed in Rome the day before, fresh from Barcelona, my heart already stretched by the thrill of a solo adventure. A spontaneous meeting with someone I'd never seen before felt both reckless and right. What could seriously go wrong? Except, of course, the 30-minute delay, a miscalculation on my part that felt monumental in the moment but fleeting in hindsight. 30 minutes later, it all felt worthwhile when I caught him looking for me as I was looking for him, in the steeliest sea green polo that made his eyes flicker that same hue. I forfeited my sandwich due to the delay and we wandered through the backstreets and alleyways of the city. As we walked, we pointed out our favorite architectural wonders and exchanged stories of our own experiences with Rome, letting the conversation flow as naturally as the ancient streets. Eventually, we found our way back to his hotel. He (impressively) navigated steaming a navy linen shirt for the Fast X red carpet and invited me to the afterparty quicker than I could process what I was getting myself into. I remember sitting on the edge of his hotel bed, my throat sinking into my stomach and my chest heavy with anticipation, hoping I still looked okay, hoping he hadn't lost interest. Because, at that moment, I realized he was beginning to mean far more to me than I had expected.

So, Ainyne and I met in Rome, which I think kind of set the bar for our whole relationship. What a preposterous, absurd, romantic Rome. It just got more insane from there. I mean, we met, we both lived in LA... and met in Rome. And I haven't been the same person since. She's just a flabbergastingly perfect person and what a grandkids story for the ages. And upon meeting, it was just such a tectonic shift in my life. We met and our first date was walking through the streets of Rome. And our second date was later that night because I just wanted to see her again as soon as possible. Literally like that same day, we met back up. But then I left not long after, like two days later, didn't get to see her again for a couple of weeks. I don't know if I'd ever see her again because you meet an amazing person in Rome... It's kind of the end of your luck. But then when she got back to LA, she hit me up, within a couple of days of being back. And we went from the most not traditional first date to the most traditional LA date for our second hiking run. And that was kind of it for me. I was like, well, I know this person is everything. And I, from there, kind of knew. It was really fast. It was very much like a shift, like taking off polarized sunglasses, like the world just looks different. And from then on, we moved in together after a Comic Con because of a COVID roommate situation of hers. And then, I just didn't want her to leave. Soon thereafter, it didn't make sense to pay two rents. And then, it didn't make sense to not be together anymore in every possible way. So, I knew I wanted to propose pretty much as soon as she moved in. I didn't want to propose like the second date. I mean, I kind of just knew. From her moving in, it was kind of just waiting for the societally appropriate year. I just kind of waited until we'd been together a year to propose. I proposed pretty soon after. But I knew early. I was telling people early. I was telling people from like month four. And yeah, I don't know. It is a love that makes songs make more sense, that makes poems read deeper, that makes romance movies feel less trite and contrived. It's one of those things where you think you know a feeling until you feel it differently. You think you know what love is till you're in it. You think you know what being together means. And, then you are actually together with a person. So yeah, I don't know. I love her more than I've ever loved anything. And I love things like big. I love things passionately. I love things professionally. I love things socially, loudly. And I love Ainyne more than any of that. And, that's magic.