Christian and Mandy met in November 2020. The weekend beforehand, Mandy decided to download the dating app, Hinge, just to see what the Portland dating scene was like. One of the first profiles she stumbled upon was Christian's. He looked handsome and athletic, so she had a feeling that he could keep up with her. As a bonus point, he also included the fact that he was Catholic in his bio - so she knew if this went anywhere, he would definitely get the Deacon Dad approval. Sure enough, she decided to swipe right. Christian wasn't a regular on the dating apps, but when he saw that Mandy swiped right on him, he was drawn to her profile. He saw that she recently ran a self-led half marathon which meant that she was likely motivated, committed and active. But most importantly, he couldn't get over her smile. The next day, he reached out to her and asked "where do I sign up for my next self-led half marathon?" - a pickup line that immediately caught Mandy's attention. A few days of chatting online went by when Christian and Mandy decided to go on their first date at Modern Times Beer where they meant to get dinner and drinks. But they had so much to chat about that they forgot to order dinner and closed down the brewery. It ends up that the pair had a lot in common, such as spending a lot of time in their church community as kids, their love for traveling, trying out new restaurants, quality time with family and staying active. Coincidentally, they both also had a desire to move to Seattle within the next year. One of the questions that Christian asked during the date was, "so what are you looking for in a partner?" Mandy was caught off guard by this question and blurted out: "tall, dark and handsome." She immediately regretted this answer as she watched Christian hold in a laugh. Christian on the other hand said "I'm looking for someone who is family oriented, easy to talk to and has a great smile, like you." Mandy was absolutely smitten in this moment. After the date, Christian was famished and went straight to Wendy's - but he also reached out to Mandy right away to tell her that he had a great time, gave her his number and asked for a second date. Since then, the pair have basically been inseparable. They both moved to Seattle a few months after they met, have ran two half marathons together and love date nights. While those date nights are still filled with a lot of good conversation and drinks, they make sure to include a lot of good food too!