Back in 2013, Gabriel and Izabelle went to Cal State University of Fullerton and joined PASA (Pilipino American Student Association). They hung out in the same group of friends and quickly became close. From going to Disneyland after class, to hanging out in the school parking lot, they both realized how much they had in common. During their friendship, there were so many events that led up to their love story. Gabriel was Izabelle's confidant, always there to support her and listen to her when she needed someone to be there. He even asked her to PASA's Spring formal where they solidified that they were each others' support system and most trusted friend. After 2 years of friendship, Gabriel finally took Izabelle on their first date to Kabuki and the Brea Pumpkin patch. They talked all night. From Gabriel thinking, "Should I put my arm around her?" to Izabelle contemplating, "should I lean my head against his shoulder?". They were just being shy and coy but Izabelle was hopeful for another date. For the next few weeks, Gabriel and Izabelle were inseparable, hanging out during their lunch breaks to meeting in between classes just to get in a few laughs and awkward arm touches. The butterflies were endless. Then on November 7, 2015, Gabriel and Izabelle went on their second date. It started off at a little café down the street from Gabriel's house for dinner then ended the night with watching a movie. After the movie had ended, Gabriel whispered to Izabelle and asked her to be his girlfriend. And the rest was history!

It began in December 2021.. Gabriel finally started planning for the proposal after years of being in love. The proposal video that Gabriel created was based off “The Office”, a show they both absolutely love. Over the span of 8 months, he planned and communicated with all of their close friends and family to make the proposal perfect. What Izabelle thought was a girls’ weekend, turned into a weekend that changed her life. Gabriel gathered her best friends to have a “Galentine’s Day” weekend in San Diego to get Izabelle out to Coronado. So, being that it was a girls’ weekend, Izabelle and her 5 closest friends went out to the bars, dance, and have the best time all night. They turned in “early” at 4 A.M. to get a good night of rest for tomorrow’s brunch in Coronado at 11 A.M. But of course in true fashion, the girls were late going to the location, all the pre-proposal nerves were hitting everyone hard except Izabelle who just wanted to get brunch, drink mimosas and enjoy San Diego. Some of the white lies that the girls were saying to throw off Izabelle were that they didn’t know where the restaurant was or the reservation was lost as we were 7 minutes too late or how our other friends parked too far so they will be another 15-30 minutes out. From Gabriel’s point of view - all he saw was that the girls were walking and stopping so often, but what he didn’t know was that Izabelle was trying to get the girls to the restaurant that was right in front of them. He started getting nervous as the girls were finally walking towards the picnic table in the sand that some of the girls helped set up earlier in the morning. Izabelle, in complete shock, saw the picnic table, sat down with a laptop and then played the video that Gabriel stitched together (video located at the top). Once the video ended, Gabriel was standing behind her with her favorite red roses and led her to the rocks that framed the beach. He told her how much he loves her and wants nothing more than to marry her. He gets down on one knee and through massive tears in her eyes, Izabelle cried yes! In the distance, there was cheering amongst the random bystanders as well as the family and friends that came down for the proposal. Tears continued to fall as she hugged her parents, Gabriel’s parents, siblings and best and closest friends. It was all so incredible.