OUR LOVE STORY IS OUR FAVORITE TO TELL-EVEN THOUGH IT'S NOT THE EASIEST TO EXPLAIN! WHEN PEOPLE ASK HOW WE MET, WE NEVER KNOW WHETHER TO SAY, "AS BABIES" OR "ON HINGE," BECAUSE THE TRUTH IS... BOTH! WE OFFICIALLY MET ON HINGE IN APRIL 2024. ONE OF OUR FIRST CONVERSATIONS WAS ABOUT ETHIOPIAN LEGENDS AND COFFEE, AND IT DIDN'T TAKE LONG FOR ME TO REALIZE THAT HAYDEN IS A TOTAL HISTORY NERD. I WAS INSTANTLY INTRIGUED AND WANTED TO KNOW MORE-AND LUCKILY, HE FELT THE SAME. WE STARTED TALKING MORE REGULARLY, ASKING ABOUT EACH OTHER'S WEEKEND PLANS AND SWAPPING STORIES ABOUT OUR INTERESTS. AT SOME POINT, HAYDEN MENTIONED HOW MUCH HE LOVES SMALL TOWNS. THAT LED ME TO ASK, "HAVE YOU EVER HEARD OF TENINO?"-MY HOMETOWN. TO MY SURPRISE, HE SAID YES. NOT ONLY HAD HE HEARD OF IT, BUT HIS UNCLE LIVES THERE AND HIS DAD IS ORIGINALLY FROM THERE. NATURALLY, I WAS CURIOUS, SINCE TENINO IS THE KIND OF PLACE WHERE EVERYONE KNOWS EVERYONE. WHEN I ASKED WHO HIS UNCLE WAS, HE REPLIED. "JAKE BURNHAM." | WAS COMPLETELY SHOCKED. JAKE BURNHAM AND MY DAD HAVE BEEN BEST FRIENDS SINCE THEY WERE THREE YEARS OLD! I'D GROWN UP SEEING UNCLE JAKE AND AUNT SHELLIE, AND I'D BEEN AROUND HAYDEN'S COUSINS THROUGHOUT MY ENTIRE CHILDHOOD. WE REALIZED THAT WE HAD BEEN IN EACH OTHER'S WORLDS FOR YEARS-ATTENDING THE SAME GATHERINGS, WALKING PAST EACH OTHER AT EVENTS-BUT SOMEHOW HAD NEVER ACTUALLY MET. SO, WHILE A DATING APP BROUGHT US TOGETHER AS ADULTS, IT TURNS OUT OUR PATHS HAD BEEN OVERLAPPING FOR MOST OF OUR LIVES. OUR STORY IS PART CHANCE, PART FATE, AND ALL HEART-AND WE WOULDN'T HAVE IT ANY OTHER WAY.