In the fall of 2024, Kristen was living in Austin and dabbling on Hinge, a popular dating app. She knew she would be moving to Utah in February, so in December, she changed her location on the app to Salt Lake City in hopes of making connections before her move. On December 1, 2024, she and Connor matched and began chatting. They chatted for most of that month, but since Kristen would not be in Utah for a few more months, their messaging dropped off with plans to possibly meet up once she had moved. Fast forward to the end of March 2025, Kristen reached back out to Connor. Their first date was a week later on April 4, 2026 at Spitz, a Greek restaurant. One month later, they made it official on May The Fourth (be with you).

By October of 2026, Connor and Kristen knew that engagement was the next step for them, so the plan was already in motion. Kristen was pretty sure Connor had bought the ring before their trip at the beginning of the month to Texas where they visited Kristen's family and Connor had The Conversation with Kristen's dad. When they returned home, Kristen knew that the proposal could happen any day. She had narrowed down a few possibilities based on her work schedule and Connor's availability. She was working an overnight shift into the morning of Sunday, 10/19, and then would be off work for a bit, so she was expecting that Monday or Friday. As Kristen would later find out, Connor's original plan was in fact, that Monday. After Kristen got off her night shift Sunday morning, she attended church with Connor and, in true Connor fashion, he decided at that time that he wanted to propose that very day instead. The plan was for Kristen to take a much-needed nap after church at Connor's place. Connor told Kristen at church that he was planning to go on a hike with a friend (s/o Caleb Rudd) while she was asleep. Later that afternoon, Connor returns to a still very sleepy Kristen and insists that they NEED to go on the hike that he supposedly had just done, because "it is SO pretty, we have to go." Immediately, Kristen was quite suspicious, but did not ask too many questions. They reach the trailhead of the first trail they ever hiked together on their second date in Little Cottonwoood Canyon. They walked for about a mile, and then Connor pointed out something near an off-shooting path - a framed photo of the two of them. As they walked up the path, multiple photos and decorations were leading up to a wooden arch that Connor had carried out and built *in the woods* the night before. He popped the question beneath it, and she said "YES"!