They met online and swiped right on each other! Martin would tell you he was immediately interested, but Courtney wasn't taking things too seriously at the time. But she wanted to know more about the kangaroo in one of his pictures, and as it turns out, they hit it off! Plans were quickly made to meet up at Garden State Beer Company in Galloway, NJ, where they traded stories of their shared alma mater, Stockton College. They learned that they share an almost endless list of interests, like dogs, Harry Potter, all things nerdy and spooky, travel, and trivia. Not wanting the date to end, they both headed to JD's Pub to play trivia and put their mutual love of trivial pursuits to the test. The rest, as they say, is truly history, because they have not wanted to stop talking to, and spending time with, each other. Shared values, beliefs, and life goals deepened their relationship, and led to love. They both love the other's family, and have built a little family of their own together in Pitman, NJ with their two dogs, Hermes and Atlas.

In fall of 2019, Martin and Courtney had begun to plan a weekend trip to celebrate their one-year dating anniversary, which is in the middle of September. Turns out that Courtney accidentally requested the wrong weekend off from work, pushing their plans into October. Martin saw this as an opportunity to put together a grand master plan for their engagement. After all, he'd had the ring since August, but this chance to get engaged during the month of Halloween was perfect. When planning their delayed trip, Martin remembered an annual pumpkin lantern festival that takes place at the Providence Zoo in Rhode Island, which they expressed interest in wanting to go to the previous year. This became the occasion and setting for the proposal. Martin also has a good friend who lives in Rhode Island, Allie Curtis, whom he asked to sneak around and take pictures and video of the evening and proposal. Courtney and Allie had never met in person, so Courtney wouldn't recognize her. So, Martin and Courtney enjoyed their walk through the lantern festival at the zoo, which ended with a photo opportunity at a bench decked out with spooky decorations and skeletons - things that the both of them love. They posed for a picture, then Martin dropped down to one knee, and all the while Allie was recording the moment. Martin pulled out the ring, opened the box, popped the question - and Courtney said yes!