Dana and Ian knew of each other from afar—they followed each other on Twitter (and Ian maybe once slid into Dana's DMs to give her a Spotfiy playlist. She uses Apple Music and didn't really listen to it). In July of 2020, Ian invited Dana on to be a guest on his podcast All Fantasy Everything over Zoom. The topic? Non-Disney animated movies. (Dana took it very seriously.) Even though they disagreed about the merits of 'Shrek,' the pair kept in touch. Texting turned into long, Covid-safe phone calls, and then, ultimately, a first in-person meeting. The rest is podcast history.
Because they fell in love during Covid, when the city was closed, Dana and Ian had been dating almost an entire year before he took her on their REAL first date: dinner and a movie. The movie was a private theater he rented out to screen Dana's favorite rom-com: 'You've Got Mail.' Dinner was Republique, one of the first restaurants they carried in from. And then, they took a stroll to their neighborhood ice cream spot, Wanderlust, where Ian got down on one knee and asked Dana to marry him (with a secret photographer documenting the moment!). When they walked back to their house, Dana was surprised one more time: their families flew into Los Angeles to help celebrate the engagement!