We originally met on Tinder in 2018, and our first first date ever was at The Blind Barber, a speakeasy in Culver City serving gourmet grilled cheese. A few dates in, however, Helen said she was only getting friend vibes. With the wisdom of hindsight, she now knows she just had some growing to do before she'd be ready.

Helen's Friday night game nights on Zoom had exactly one regular attendee: Jackie. Other friends joined us for one night here or there, but at least the two of us were online every Friday without fail. But we're useless lesbians, so of course it took ages before it occurred to either of us why we could spend seemingly endless hours just hanging out and it never seemed like enough. Helen credits Jackie with figuring it out first. On NYE 2020, Jackie and Helen spent a record 12 hours online together: D&D, then Taskmaster, a nap break during which Jackie drove to Helen's house to pick up a bottle of wine, then game night to ring in the new year. It wasn't long after that that Helen was finally able to move out of her share house and into a studio apartment where she was free to have guests over. Guess who got the first (and only) invite?

For the first birthday we spent as a couple, we went snorkeling in La Jolla. When Jackie witnessed the sheer joy Helen experienced while snorkeling, she knew from that moment that that's how she wanted to propose. She lay the groundwork by subtly dropping the ASL for "marry" into conversation and schemed with friends in the weeks leading up to our big Australia trip. Cut to the outer Great Barrier Reef on a snorkel and dive tour with Morgan and Shion. Fresh off the high of our first scuba experience, Helen and Shion went out for one last snorkel - and went out about as far as we could go against a pretty strong current. Little did Helen realize that Jackie and Morgan would be following close behind! Jackie really had to work for it, but when she finally caught up and tore Helen's attention away from the fish, it was worth it. Jackie signed "will you marry me" underwater and presented a stand-in ring in a seashell trinket box!

Our second first date happened in the middle of the pandemic when most of LA was completely shut down, when we had the rare luxury of a traffic-free city. We found a private spot at a San Pedro beach and watched the waves crash against the rocks for hours. So when it came time to propose back, Helen THOUGHT she had the perfect spot. Because she knew Jackie knew this proposal was coming, Helen really wanted to make sure the moment came as a surprise. So she took Jackie to visit their friend Jillian, but slipped outside halfway through the visit and hightailed it down to San Pedro to set up. Unfortunately, Jackie's first thought was that Helen had been kidnapped, and it was down to Jillian to persuade her that this was the fun kind of mystery disappearance. Eventually Jackie arrived at the beach to find a picnic setup for two, complete with cheese, wine, and fairy lights. Helen presented a copy of Jackie's favorite book, Pride and Prejudice, with a heart carved out to hold the ring.