It’s finally happening!

Joanna and Beto met each other when they were in 2nd grade, they became friends, and spend their teenage and adult lives falling in and out of love. In third grade, Joanna transferred to another school, and they never really kept in touch. They went on different paths until their freshman year in high school, when they met again as they went to GLAD (Greater Los Angeles Agency on Deafness, Inc.) for Career Day, to help students prepare for their future careers and plan their education track they will need to follow after graduation. They didn't recognize each other at first, not until they were out socializing with their mutual friends. That's when they realized they had once been in the same class. Joanna said, "Holy crap, you're that shy Alberto?" Beto laughed and two of them hit it off right away. They only dated briefly in high school and realized it was hard dating each other while they were in different schools. They decided to end their relationship and became good friends. They lost touch after Joanna went to college then reconnected with each other again in 7 years (2013) later at Camp Pacifica where they worked with deaf and hard of hearing children. They became close friends over those years, becoming even closer with each passing year. They started hanging out more but still in a "friends" type of way. Joanna thought to herself, "Oh he looks good." They began secretly dating in the Fall 2015 and didn't tell anyone. Two and a half years later, Beto finally asked Joanna to be his girlfriend on March 3, 2018. "Our friendship eliminated all of that awkwardness," Joanna says. "It was just comfortable and our families already knew each other." "And today we laugh that it's crazy," Joanna adds. "We can't believe we've gone from simple acquaintances to this!" If reconnecting after more than 20 years sounds like a long shot, it's not! Fairy tales DO come true!

On their one year anniversary, Joanna took Beto to Rail Explores Las Vegas, to ride pedal powered railbikes along the old railroad tracks. They had so much fun riding pedal powered railbike for hours, exhausted, and ready to head home, Beto suggested they go to Santa Monica Pier first to watch the sunset and continuing celebrating their one year anniversary. Little did Joanna know that Beto had texted both their families and few close friends to be witnesses of his setup at Santa Monica Pier. A week before the proposal, Beto asked for her parents' blessing to ask for her hand in marriage. Of course her parents both said "Yes!", and were extremely excited for that night, but had to hold it in so Joanna wouldn't get suspicious. At the Pier, they walked all the way from street parking up the stairs to the Pier. Suddenly, Joanna saw Beto's family members standing in the crowd, surprised and confused, and informed Beto that his mother and brother were there. Beto realized his original plan didn't go as expected. Beto had to change the plan and act fast. Beto told Joanna that her parents were there too, stood next to Beto's family members, and then everything happened in a matter of seconds. Joanna looked over at Beto, he was down on one knee, and pulled out the ring. He emotionally asked her, "Will you marry me?" Joanna was speechless at the first then said "YES...," as the amazing crowd of spectators cheered them on! Now, they were engaged. They are so excited to celebrate this next chapter in their lives with you. See you in October!