It all started in a dark corner of the internet, where every great love story begins these days — on a dating app. I had just bravely dipped my toe into the treacherous waters of Match.com, which left me feeling a bit like a deer in headlights—optimistic, but mostly awkward. After much deliberation with a couple of friends, we curated the perfect profile —photos and a headline that screamed “Devin, that's a guy I’d definitely like to know”. I figured it was good enough for now, so I hit "Go Live" on my profile and promised myself I'd revisit it tomorrow. To my surprise, there was my first message… from Andy. I don’t remember exactly what he said, but I do remember thinking, This seems promising. So, naturally, I found myself deep-diving into his profile. Most of his photos were grainy, like they’d been taken with a flip phone from the early 2000s, which isn’t a great sign for online dating, but then—there was the pinnacle of weirdness: Andy, standing next to an alpaca. It was random. It was strange. And for some reason, I was hooked. I had to know the story. We exchanged a few messages, and after a few days of playing online ping-pong, we agreed to meet at Foxtrot, a cocktail bar. Why a bar? Simple: If it wasn’t going well, we could both quickly and easily escape. I walked into Foxtrot late and flustered (thank you Atlanta traffic), scanning the room for someone who might resemble the guy in the grainy alpaca photo. Oh, wow.. that’s him; that’s Andrew! We moved to a table, where the standard first-date awkwardness ensued. But then, weirdly, we fell into the most unusual first-date topic: true crime. As Andrew enthusiastically rambled on (and on, and on) about his obsession with serial killers, I just sat there, thinking, Well, this is either going to get really interesting, or I’ll be telling my friends about how I narrowly escaped an impromptu Netflix documentary. But surprisingly, I was intrigued. Then the conversation shifted to something even stranger—Latoya London. Don’t know her? Don’t feel bad; 99.9% of the population doesn’t. But here’s the thing: I was on a date with the 0.1%, the rarest of unicorns who not only knew Latoya London but loved her. For those of you who don’t remember, Latoya was a season 3 American Idol contestant (not finalist) who was, in Andrew's words, “completely robbed.” What are the odds? While we’ve had many more dates since then, we’ve never quite let go of our weird, delightful love for Latoya London and all things random. Sometimes, the most unexpected topics — like who should’ve won a singing competition over a decade ago — can turn into the greatest love story. And so, that’s how Devin met Andy: over a cocktail, a slightly offbeat conversation, and a shared love for obscure pop culture.

Our proposal story takes us to the Dominican Republic. As many of you know, we love to travel, and regularly plan trips around our birthdays. Devin’s birthday was coming up, and he had decided that he wanted to celebrate in Punta Cana! As soon as everything was booked, I started my planning. I thought it would be extra special to propose on his actual birthday…but that was the day we arrived. It was going to be a logistical challenge, but who doesn’t like a good challenge?!? I immediately began coordinating with the resort, exchanging dozens of emails and phone calls to make sure everything was lined up. A surprise proposal and dinner on the beach. Seems straightforward enough, right?!? The first challenge was going to be timing. It was tight, but doable…I needed everything to work out, including the flight, airport, customs, and transportation to the resort. As we boarded the plane, I noticed a man having an issue with his seatbelt. I then began obsessing over how it might cause a flight delay…something Devin clearly noticed. The seatbelt issue was quickly resolved and we were off. As soon as we landed, I started hustling Devin through that airport…to the point where he asked me why we had to hurry so much for our relaxing vacation. Obviously, I couldn’t tell, but he’d soon find out! Once we arrived at the resort, things started going off track. The woman at check-in couldn’t stop mentioning a romantic dinner by the beach. Devin was a good sport and ignored her at first, but finally asked me, “do you know what she’s talking about?” Luckily, I had come up with a story about having to buy a Honeymoon package in order to get us an upgraded room. It came with dinner on the beach, and a photo session…surprise! We then headed to the concierge desk to confirm our dinner reservation. I still needed to find a way to connect with the photographer, but the photo studio was empty. Luckily, Devin decided to explore the spa area, giving me a little time to share the plan with the Concierge, since he had no idea…so much for all the planning! He did follow through, and connected me with the photographer. Things weren’t going quite as planned, but exactly as expected! Fast forward to us in our room, unpacking and getting ready for dinner. Devin was still being a good sport and not asking a lot of questions. He did seem perplexed by my insistence on ironing every piece of clothing, and getting ready so early. Then my phone rings…it was the photographer. Despite countless emails and phone calls, the photographer said in a questioning tone, “the concierge said you wanted some pictures taken tonight.” Exasperated, I replied yes, and that I had been communicating with someone named Jonathan. “That’s me,” he replied, and finally he started remembering the plan. He just needed me to stop by the studio when we were ready. Ok…we’re back on track! A few minutes later we were out the door to grab a drink…and for me to meet Jonathan the photographer. While Devin got us espresso martinis in to-go cups, I spoke with Jonathan. He kept mentioning me proposing to “my wife,” so I had to make sure he knew the assignment. I was proposing to a man…gasp! He ran ahead, and we slowly walked down to the beach, with our espresso martinis in hand. One last detail, I had to get rid of those pesky to-go cups…check! Now we were ready. As we stood by the ocean, I nervously asked Devin if he was happy with his birthday, and if there was anything that could make it better. Without giving him a second to answer, I blurted out, “Don’t answer that! I have another question for you.” Dropping to one knee, I asked him to marry me. He shouted “YES!” and I slipped the ring on his finger without dropping it in the sand. My mission was accomplished…we were now engaged, and I could finally relax! After awkwardly taking pictures on the beach, we sat down for our romantic dinner, grateful for the beautiful evening and our future ahead. It was a night we would never forget!