We’ve technically “known” each other since we were kids—though neither of us really remembers the other much! Gianna grew up across the street from another Bates family, where she spent most of her school years best friends with Jack’s cousin Adrianna. When Gianna and Adrianna went their separate ways for university, Adrianna mentioned that Gianna might run into her cousin, since he’d be starting at Saint Louis University the same year. And sure enough, on night one of freshman year, we met while waiting in line for the bathroom at a party. Gianna promptly freaked out when Jack casually revealed he was that Bates cousin she had heard so much about. Naturally, from that moment on, we were inseparable. Just kidding! Four full years went by before we even became friends—let alone started dating. Senior year, we ended up talking one night at a bar and bonded over music (the topic we knew we had in common). We realized we’d both be at LouFest (RIP) and made some very loose plans to meet up. We ended up spending a big chunk of the festival together, and shared our first kiss there. A couple of short months later—after various hangouts, concerts, and bar crawls around St. Louis—we made it official. Now, nearly a decade later, we’ve lived all over the U.S. together while traveling for Jack’s travel physical therapy job, and most recently took our talents abroad with a move to Berlin in 2024. Our love now spans nearly as many cities as it does years!