Alita and Stephen first crossed paths in college, though they went to different schools and didn’t realize how often their worlds would overlap. Alita is originally from Essex, Vermont and attended Fitchburg State University in Massachusetts. Stephen grew up in Burlington, Massachusetts and went to the University of South Carolina. Many of Stephen’s hometown friends attended Fitchburg State, and through them, Alita met some of her first close friends at school before she ever met Stephen. At the end of Alita’s freshman year, Stephen visited Fitchburg to see those friends, marking the first time the two officially met, though Alita insists her memory of this moment is a bit fuzzy. Over the next few years, their paths continued to cross through the same group of friends, staying in touch even while Alita studied abroad in London. During the summer of Alita’s senior year, Stephen moved back home, just 30 minutes from Fitchburg, and the two began spending more time together. Somewhere along the way, without either of them saying it out loud, they had started a relationship. As graduation approached, Alita accepted an internship at NBC in New York City. Stephen mentioned he had always wanted to live in NYC, and a mutual friend casually suggested, “Why don’t you just move there together?” So they did, without giving it a second thought. In the summer of 2013, they packed up and moved to New York City. Nearly 13 years later, they’ve shared three apartments, built a life together, and are excited for this next chapter. And as friends and family love to remind them, it’s about time!