They both grew up in the Indy area—Eric in Indianapolis and Maddie in Carmel—and somehow missed each other completely. They both went to IU at the same time and even lived five minutes apart in downtown Indy for three years. It took the dating app Hinge to finally bring them together, and their first date was in October of 2023 at the Commodore, a small speakeasy in Fountain Square. That date led to many more, including a haunted house, a 1975 concert, plenty of Mexican restaurants, and cooking dinner together before they started officially dating in December of 2023. Along the way, they've traveled together to Cabo San Lucas, Denver, New Buffalo, Atlanta, Austin, Savannah, Raleigh, and Charleston. The first year and half of dating was pretty hectic while Maddie completed NP school at Purdue University and continued working as a nurse at Riley. But Eric was incredibly patient during that stressful time and always helped in any way he could. After Maddie finished NP school in May 2025, they left downtown Indianapolis and moved up to Carmel to be closer to family. In the summer of 2025, the Kiesle family took a trip to Cabo San Lucas to celebrate Mr. Kiesle retiring. Everyone was supposed to get together one evening for family photos, but they never ended up happening so Mrs. Kiesle was adamant that they got done in October when Mckenzie came home for a wedding instead. For months, the Kiesle family talked about where and when these photos would happen and what exactly they all would wear. On October 11th, Maddie and Eric drove to Newfield Gardens all dressed up for family photos, but to Maddie's surprise her entire family was "stuck in traffic." Rather than waiting around, Eric suggested that they head into Newfields with the photographer (Nancy Wright - a close family friend) to scope out a good spot. Once inside, Mrs. Wright took a couple test shots only for Eric to turn to Maddie and say, "So, we aren't actually taking family photos..." Moments later, Eric proposed and Maddie's utter shock was all caught on camera. The celebration continued back at the Kiesle household where the couple was greeted by all of their close family friends. That will forever be one of the most special days of their life.