About a year before we actually met, Hayden and I had both downloaded Hinge (& matched!) but neither of us really ever got into it or took it very seriously. Both of us deleted the app and redownloaded it about a year later. Fast forward to June 2023, we matched again. Hayden sent me a message saying "maybe this time you'll actually answer me." We exchanged phone numbers and immediately began texting. The next morning, I texted Hayden telling him I was boarding a plane headed to Orange County, California. We quickly found out that we both grew up going to Orange County almost every summer and that Hayden would actually be flying there with his family a couple days later. We clicked instantly via text over our love of Balboa Island and shoe shopping. After texting nonstop throughout both of our California trips, I couldn't wait to meet him in person. On our first date at Mexican Sugar, we agreed to delete the Hinge app. We both immediately knew this was different than any other first date. We have been inseparable ever since!