Jeremy and Ashley met on a December night in 2018 at Beck's in downtown Sykesville. Much like any ol' time Jeremy leaves the house, he gets recognized and spends what seems like forever talking about his first love, lacrosse. On this night, Jeremy ran into some CHS parents and did what he did best, avoid talking to anyone his own age, specifically girls, and talk lacrosse. Sweaty and underdressed, Ashley spotted him from across the bar and wondered why in the world he'd spend so much time communicating with the parents when she was easily welcoming his presence on her side of the bar. She kept her cool, but couldn't believe how oblivious he was of his surroundings. Eventually, Jeremy made his way over and they began conversating. They exchanged numbers and went their separate ways. Ashley wanted to play hard to get, but it was impossible to do because Jeremy was a unicorn and men like him do not live in Carroll County. New Year's Eve came around and their mutual friend was having a party. Ashley knew exactly who she wanted to have as her plus one, but she needed to not look desperate so she invited a group of Jeremy's friends. As she was getting ready for the party, Ashley told her family that she had a mission, "I'm kissing Jeremy Benson tonight"! As the night went on, Ashley enjoyed her time with her friends, but impatiently waited on Jeremy's arrival. 10:00pm comes and goes and before she knows it, it's 11:00pm and her dreams of kissing Jeremy when the ball dropped were slowly slipping away. At 11:30pm, Jeremy and his friends finally show up and Ashley doesn't waste anytime. Her first thought was to challenge him to a game of darts because what doesn't go together better than darts and alcohol? As the clock starts ticking down, 10, 9, 8..3,2,1 & Ashley and Jeremy started the New Year with a kiss. And from that point the rest is history!

Ashley and Jeremy spent a lot of their time early on in their relationship exploring the area and introducing each other to their hobbies and likes. Ashley was very much an outdoorsy kind of person. She loved that Jeremy was passionate about lacrosse and Eagle Scouts. She assumed that Jeremy would have the same love for being outside as she did; she was wrong. Jeremy was very much someone who enjoyed being home and relaxing. That was quiet an adjustment for the both of them to make. On a cold January morning, Ashley was able to convince Jeremy to go on a walk with her and his dog, Emma. This was one of Ashley's favorite parts of Sykesville because it was serene, beautiful and somewhat secluded. They had such a fun time and had a big laugh when Emma, the dog that hates water, jumped in and began to swim. Three years later, on the morning of Christmas Eve, Jeremy was secretly coordinating with his parents to meet him at that same spot. He asked Ashley to go for a walk with Emma. Of course, she was down for it, but his plan for where he wanted to walk was not convenient to Ashley. She continuously tried to suggest closer places, but Jeremy was nervously adamant on where they were going. Ashley became suspicious when they got there because Jeremy 1. was in jeans 2. he kindly kept rushing her and 3. he asked to go on a walk in the first place. He took me to the first place we ever walked to where Emma went swimming. After carefully helping her cross the rocks, Jeremy was in place. He grabbed her hands and asked if she knew why they were there. Then proceeded to share that he spoke to both of her parents and began to cry. When she saw his tears, she became emotional and as he got down on one knee, her heart fluttered and the tears began falling. Ashley remembers asking with hands shaking if he was going to put the ring on her finger. He replied, "I don't know" and from then on her mind went blank. She doesn't even recall saying "yes".