Claire and Gal first crossed paths in a group chat for incoming Washington State University freshmen (Go Cougs!). Between the barrage of messages and the group Zoom calls to get to know everyone, Gal definitely noticed Claire. He never in his wildest dreams thought he actually had a chance with her, but to his surprise, she wanted to talk to him! Those early days turned into long conversations over FaceTime, sometimes lasting until 3 in the morning—which, for those who know Claire, is crazy late. On a fall morning in August of 2017, they finally met in person. Claire had a volleyball class that morning and texted Gal that she was sitting on a bench out in front of his dorm, Global. Gal was walking back from the gym and was instantly nervous. He actually tried to figure out a way to sneak inside and avoid saying hi, but luckily, he didn’t know about the back entrance to Global yet. So, he nervously sat down next to Claire on the bench and said hello. They've been inseparable ever since. Their first date was what would quickly become a classic outing for them. WSU has a bear sanctuary, so they went to grab Dutch Bros—a Marmalade Rebel for Claire, of course—and went to visit the bears. Since then, they've shared countless exciting vacations and adventures. Fast forward seven years: Gal proposed in August of 2025 at a beautiful vineyard on top of Red Mountain, overlooking the valley.