Andrew and Jenna met at a Special Olympics event in February of 2025. Andrew was working with Craven County Recreation & Parks as the event host and Jenna was working with some of the schools/participants as a Speech Language Pathologist. They had seen each other in passing at other events, however, this time was different. While working the event, one of the teachers came up to Andrew and asked if he was single. They were asking for a friend/coworker. That friend/coworker happened to be Jenna. Andrew reluctantly said "yes, I am single" as he wasn't really interested in getting into a relationship; so he thought. The event finished up and Jenna stopped Andrew to chat. He knew she was the friend/coworker that was interested. He was a little flustered and sweaty as he didn't know what to say; Andrew forgot to ask her for her number and he forgot to invite her to lunch after telling her where they were going. Fortunately for Andrew, Jenna reached out on Facebook later that evening to give him her phone number. He liked her message the next day and did not respond for hours as he was travelling to visit family. He was still a little flustered and needed time to think about his response. When Andrew finally texted her the following night, he made sure to tell her that he was "no where near ready to jump into anything serious" but would be down to grab a drink sometime. He invited her over for dinner and old fashioneds the following Sunday where they planned their official first date in Washington, NC.

Andrew and Jenna discussed getting engaged and both knew that they wanted to spend the rest of their lives together. Andrew made an appointment at Hearne's Fine Jewelry in New Bern, NC to have a custom ring made with diamonds from his Grammie's ring. He worked with Hearne's to make sure they had the perfect, one of a kind design. Once they decided on the design, Hearne's sent Andrew a 3D rendering of the ring. He was so excited that he waited almost 48 whole hours to show Jenna. Thankfully, she approved! Andrew was told that the ring would be ready for pick up no later than August 22, 2025. Jenna knew when the ring would be ready and knew that Andrew had a special date planned. His plan was to recreate their first date in Washington, NC by going to 1906 Bistro & Bourbon Bar for drinks before going to The Hackney for dinner and then finishing the night with live music at Ribeyes Steakhouse. To his surprise, Andrew got a call the first week of August; the ring was ready for pickup. He knew he had a chance to really surprise Jenna and had to keep his mouth shut. Andrew and Jenna had a beach trip planned with his sister, Elizabeth, and her husband, Andy, in Oak Island, NC. Andrew immediately knew that he was going to ask Jenna to marry him on that trip. He coordinated with Elizabeth and Andy to ensure they took plenty of pictures of the special moment. Almost as soon as they got to their airbnb, Andrew suggested that they go for a walk on the beach. Once on the beach, Jenna had to tell him to slow down. He was so excited and nervous! He was looking for the right spot on the beach as they walked to the pier. Once they turned around and made it to that spot on the walk back, he got down on one knee and professed his love to her. Needless to say, she said YES!