Brandy and Astin met during her freshman year and his sophomore year while attending Grand Rapids Creston High School in 1999. The two quickly connected with each other and the rest was history...kind of. The couple dated off and on throughout high school and college then decided to go their separate ways in 2008 when Brandy moved to Las Vegas and Astin moved in Ann Arbor. They each lived their lives apart for the next 7 years rarely keeping in touch, until Astin reached out to Brandy in October of 2015. From their initial conversations they shared what their individual journeys had been like during their time apart and continued to converse as friends until Brandy came home to visit Grand Rapids for Christmas in 2015. This would be the first time they'd seen each other in a while. During this reunion Brandy was able to meet Astin's then 1 year old son Mekhi. After this reunion they decided to see where their lives could go together and in February of 2016 they decided to officially become a couple again. Over the next year they would visit one another between Grand Rapids, Detroit and Las Vegas and were diligent in making their long distance love work. Then in February of 2017 Astin flew to Las Vegas to make the 25 hour drive with Brandy back home to Grand Rapids. They lived together and began planning their lives until Christmas Eve of 2018 when Astin asked for Brandy's hand in marriage to bring this love story full circle.