Ethan and Gemma grew up in the same town. Going to the same elementary school, middle school, and high school, only one grade apart. They knew who each other were but their paths never crossed. That is until Gemma joined the same gym Ethan had been going to. The spark came when Gemma was complaining about the weighted bar hurting her hands. Ethan took it upon himself to remedy the situation. Lightly taking her hand in his, he looked into her eyes and said “you should put the chalk in this pattern for it to work the best”. Gemma immediately felt butterflies in her stomach and blushed.

Not long after their time at the Mountain River gym, Ethan was given Gemma’s number and was told she would love for him to reach out by a mutual friend. They hit it off right away and found they loved talking to each other. Though they went to college in different towns they decided they wanted to go on a date.

Shortly after Gemma began her career in a new city, the couple set out to do some grocery shopping. After two wrong turns in an unfamiliar area, Gemma spotted a "puppy sale" sign and begged to "just go play with them for a second!". Upon walking into the store, Ethan spotted a tiny beagle puppy trying to wrestle well above his weight class. Ethan thought the struggling puppy could use a short break and plopped him down in Gemma's arms. They were both unsure how this would go since Gemma has never been a "dog person". But, after having a tiny puppy climb all over them and then fall asleep in their arms; it was decided that Pippin would come home with them.

Ethan had known he wanted to propose to Gemma for a long time. When the opportunity to take Gemma on a family vacation in Hawaii presented itself, Ethan knew he had the perfect opportunity. Ever since Gemma has previously visited the Island chain, she was obsessed with the prospect of going back. With a little help from his family, the perfect proposal site was arranged on the beach. Ethan led Gemma down the wooden path to the beach, nervously rambling the whole way. When they arrived at the beach and Ethan led Gemma to the site, she finally started to realize what was happening. After an emotional speech Ethan got down on one knee pulling out the engagement ring. Eyes welling with tears Gemma said "YES!". Together they settled down on their picnic blanket with a celebratory glass of champagne.