Our Story
The Beginning
Her Version
Austin and I went to the same high school; he was a year younger than me. We had many mutual friends and one class together but only really knew of each other. Fast forward to 2019, we recognized each other on a dating app and happened to match. We then spent years talking on-and-off as it was never really the right time for us to connect on a deeper level. On NYE 2022 I made a pact to myself: 2023 would be The Year of No Austin; the back-and-forth was doing more harm than good and it clearly wasn't going anywhere. I cut him off completely, deleted his number and removed him from all my socials. I wasn't even going to think about him. Turns out 2023 was actually The Year of Austin: I moved back to KC that summer, we reconnected in the Fall and after realizing how much we had both grown and matured, we fell in love almost instantly and from then on we've been inseparable.
The Beginning
His Version
Kenealy and I went to the same high school but never interacted. It wasn’t until 2019 that we matched on Hinge and started talking. Something felt right immediately, but neither of us was truly ready for a real relationship yet. We went through a few off-and-on years of talking, stopping, then talking again. In late summer of 2023, we met up again and hit things off, but I fell back into old habits and disappeared. Then one day in September 2023, I was stopped at a red light near my old apartment when I saw Kenealy had posted on her Snapchat story. She was telling a story about a gas station interaction she'd had, and just seeing her made something click. I knew I had to take her seriously. I texted her right then and asked for one more chance. I didn’t deserve it, but she gave it to me. When she came over for a movie night, the moment I opened the door and saw her, I knew she would be my girlfriend. There was no other option. On October 6, 2023, we had McDonald’s - and we had each other.
The Proposal
Her Version
Around the Fall of 2024 I started sending Austin many different ring options but I continuously reassured him that there was no pressure to propose right away. He had convinced me that it wouldn't be happening anytime soon so I figured it would be at least another year. I had no clue he had ordered a ring to be delivered to his parents' house or that his mom was passing it off to him while we were out for a family dinner in April 2025. A week later, on April 26, we were enjoying a quiet Saturday morning when suddenly I heard Austin behind me say, "Do you want to marry me?" This was something we said to each other a lot as a casual, off-handed joke so naturally I said, "Of course I do" without even turning around. Then he said, "No seriously." I turned and saw him holding a ring box and he said, "Will you marry me? I've had the ring for a week and I just couldn't wait any longer." I responded with shock and disbelief, followed by many yeses and happy sobs.
The Proposal
His Version
On Easter Sunday in 2025, my family and Kenealy went to lunch after church. What Kenealy didn’t know was that her engagement ring had been delivered to my parents’ house, and they brought it with them that day. As we were leaving, my mom slipped me the ring box - far too big to hide easily. The ride home was a little painful as I was sitting on what felt like a golf ball. A week later, Kenealy and I were enjoying a quiet Saturday morning together. I had jokingly been asking her to marry me for a year and a half: my way of saying that if I had a ring, we’d already be engaged. I realized there would never be a “perfect” time; I just had to do it. So that morning, I reached for the ring and asked, “Will you marry me?” She said yes, like she always had. I followed it with, “No, like for real - will you marry me?” She turned around, saw the ring, and burst into tears before saying a very real yes. There may never be a "right" time for anything. Except December 11, 2026 at 4:00pm. That’s the perfect time.