Rita wasn't searching for love... but she found it when she least expected it. Rita had just started her clinical year of PA school and was enjoying having a nice break from the constant stress of the classroom. Rita was celebrating one of her best friend's birthdays, Lynn Kayali, who had been striving for months at any and all social gatherings to play "matchmaker" for Rita. Lynn decided to pursue her dream at her birthday when Josh had expressed some interest in Rita to Rita's sister and brother-in-law. It was at Lynn's birthday where Josh made his first move, but Rita was unsure as Josh was not Rita's type on paper. Enticed by a birthday drink by Josh, Lynn excitedly asked Rita if she would go on a date with Josh. Happy to be able to provide a drink for Lynn, Rita accepted the offer. Owing to the iPhone's brilliant way of offloading apps, Rita had missed a Facebook message from Josh attempting to make plans. Eventually, the first date was planned at Pub Dog, which was a 4-hour date that consisted of sharing stories and getting to know each other. Rita found herself lost in how much time had flown by, and started to take interest in Josh's kindness and attentiveness. It was this date she discovered the smile that she now loves so much. Rita found herself drawn to his conversation, but she was still apprehensive about the next step. Rita looked forward to seeing Josh on a weekly basis, and it became her new normal. Despite some initial hesitations about bringing a white, Jewish boy into a Lebanese, Catholic family, she realized over the many dates that they are more similar than different. Rita saw Josh's willingness to learn and accept her family for who they were, and his respect for her cultural and religious traditions. She found herself quickly falling in love for the first time, and made it easy for her to say "yes" when he proposed to her among her friends in November 2020. And to this day, Rita could not have wished for a better soulmate.

Josh was also not looking for love at the time, but that's when he found it too. Josh had met Rita through mutual friends years earlier, but it wasn't until Lynn's birthday that Josh decided to make his move. When Josh's spirited Facebook message was ignored, he began to feel that Rita wasn't interested. Josh had told Lynn about his attempt, but Lynn provided some reassurance that there must have been "some miscommunication". There indeed was, as Josh did find out later that Rita's phone had offloaded her Messenger app. After the Pub Dog date that Josh didn't want to end, he looked forward to the next time that he could see Rita. Josh made every effort to see Rita on a weekly basis and couldn't help from keeping a constant conversation with her. A few months in, Josh had asked Rita to be his girlfriend, but she said no. Josh didn't know at the time why she said no, but Josh knew he couldn't throw in the towel on this relationship. Josh saw where this relationship could go and he was ready to go all-in. Josh began learning Arabic, discussing Rita's culture, and meeting her friends. Rita eventually caved in and decided to officially say "yes" to the relationship. Josh then had the big test of meeting Rita's parents. Josh was very nervous and knew that he had to be on his A-game. As nervous as Josh was, Rita reassured Josh, "just be yourself, they'll love you". After the first dinner introduction, Sunday night dinners became a regular occurrence for Josh. Within no time, Josh felt that he was one of the family. Months later, Josh felt that the time had come for the big proposal, but had to make sure Rita was unaware of it. With the help of Rita's friends, Josh was able to inconspicuously plan the proposal event that led to the engagement. Josh could not be happier to get to spend the rest of his life with Rita.