Cooper and Emily's story began in February 2024, when Emily liked Cooper's picture on Hinge. Their first date was at a cocktail bar in Forest Grove, and from the moment they sat down, it was clear there was something there. As the night wound down and Cooper assumed they'd be calling it, Emily confidently suggested they find another spot and keep things going — a boldness that Cooper found immediately attractive. He was hooked. Not long after, Emily left for three weeks for school. Cooper knew even then that she was worth the wait. When she returned, the two picked up right where they left off — and this time, they didn't slow down. Cooper got a dog, a vocal and relentlessly affectionate pup named Waylon, who has always had a talent for getting on their nerves in the most lovable way possible. He may have technically been Cooper's dog, but from the moment Emily came around, Waylon belonged to both of them. It wasn't long before Emily and Cooper made things official. That first summer together was full. Their first trip was a weekend getaway to a Seattle Mariners game — a great time, and also the occasion of Emily's first introduction to Cooper's complicated relationship with Seattle traffic. A few weeks later, they were slow dancing at Cooper's sister and brother-in-law's wedding when Cooper told Emily he loved her for the first time. And later that summer, Cooper flew down to Santa Rosa to meet Emily's family for the weekend. The visit went well, and on the long drive back home together, the two talked for all ten hours without pausing for breath. The miles disappeared, and somewhere along that drive, they both knew with certainty that they had something special. By early 2025, they had moved in together — the two of them and Waylon, settling into their apartment and their life as a unit. And then, in the summer of 2025, Cooper orchestrated a not-so-subtle couples photo shoot on Thunder Island in the Columbia Gorge, ring tucked carefully away. Emily had a hunch walking in, but as the afternoon unfolded, that hunch quietly faded — right up until Cooper dropped to one knee.