A modern day love story come to life thanks to Tinder. Alex and Nicole swiped right in April of 2021 and had their first date on April 25th that same year. They quickly fell in love despite living an hour and a half away from each other. Alex spent more and more time in Lexington, and they began trading off weekends in each other’s cities. Their relationship was put to the test not long after when Alex was deployed to Djibouti for a year in November of 2021 with the Kentucky National Guard. When he returned in 2022, they decided to move in together with their two cats, Loki and Thor, and have been inseparable ever since.

Alex planned the couple’s next three vacations while he was deployed overseas. 2024's big trip was to be Fairbanks, Alaska. And little did Nicole know, Alex had also planned to propose there. On February 13th, after breakfast at the resort’s restaurant and a relaxing dip in the hot springs, Alex and Nicole set out cross country skiing on one of the resort’s trails. Did they know how to cross country ski? No. Were they doing it wrong? Absolutely. But they’d already rented the skis and there was no turning back once they realized it was a lot harder than they’d initially thought. About halfway through the trek, Alex found a path across a frozen river that some snowmobiles had used. The water could be heard flowing beneath the ice, but if the snowmobiles hadn't broken it, neither would they; so off the skis went and the two of them ventured across. After a few minutes, they came to a clearing overlooking some snow peaked mountains. They enjoyed the view for a little bit and took a few photos before deciding to head back to their skis. Before crossing the frozen river and continuing on their trek, Alex caught Nicole’s attention, got down on one knee, and asked her to marry him. A special moment witnessed only by them and the mountains.