Jake and Nicole met in elementary school and immediately launched a relationship that lasted an impressive six months. It came to an end when Nicole broke up with Jake at recess. Jake took the news hard. Nicole moved on. Years later, they became good friends in high school and stayed close through college, despite attending different universities. Somewhere along the way, friends started suggesting they should date. Jake and Nicole responded by pursuing literally every other option. After college, they both ended up in Chicago. The timing finally worked out, and Jake asked Nicole to dinner. They accidentally showed up wearing matching colored shirts, which was either a good sign or a warning. Fortunately, it was the former. Once they started dating, things moved considerably faster than they had during the previous decade and a half. They started building a life for themselves, moved in together with Stanley the Dachshund, and on March 8, 2025, Jake proposed on the Clark Street Bridge with family and friends waiting in the wings to celebrate. As it turns out, everyone else had been right. Only 20 years after meeting, they figured it out.