We grew up in the same town and started dating our senior year of high school (October 8th 2017). How did it start? I (leah) am fairly certain Michael complimented me on social media and then invited me to get food with him and his friend. The rest is history. We were long distance (3 and 7 hour drive) for 5 years throughout undergrad and Michael's masters program. We have been living together in Chicago for over a year now. We also have an obsession with national parks and have been traveling to them for the last few years.