While we had mutual friends throughout high school, we didn't actually meet until the last semester of our senior year of high school at Lakota West. One of my best friends (hey, Kenz!) had a White Elephant Christmas Party where we were partners playing pool. I also took home the gift that Bernie brought to the party, and that Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Snuggie is still in our living room! After the party in December, we didn't talk to each other again until February. -Jackie

It wasn't until a tweet in January 2014 that we started "talking." It all started with tweets complaining about AP Calculus and ended with what we thought was sneaky flirting through our likes and tweets. We thought nobody noticed until the next morning at school... -Bernie

Our first date was actually on Valentine's Day in 2014. We didn't plan it like that, but the Lakota West had a basketball game, and we were going to a VERY FANCY Panera dinner beforehand. The universe had a different plan. There was a snow storm, the game was cancelled, and there was no way I was going driving in those conditions. So, on our very first date Bernie drove to my parents' house. Nothing like meeting the entire family on the first date! When Bernie pulled into the our driveway, our dog, Onyx, was left outside by accident (yes, great pet owners). Onyx almost attacked Bernie, but nonetheless he persisted. While our first date was not as we planned, it was so fun. I remember calling Kirsty (best friend and MOH) after Bernie left squealing. -Jackie

We've been together for 7 years now. We've grown up together and learned how to be our own people. Since we started dating, we've gone to college (Go Bearcats!), adopted a rescue pup that's caused us more stress than we could have ever imagined (but also given us so much love), traveled to South Africa together where Jackie met much of my family (and also caught a terrible stomach bug), and we learned how to be independent and live hours away from each other (8 months being the longest stretch of time, but 14 months in total). -Bernie

In July 2020 Bernie took me to a fancy dinner downtown. Just that week, Kirsty also asked me to get our nails done. Of course, THAT was the night. I for sure thought Bernie would be proposing to me that night. We all should have known better; Bernie's never done anything predictable, and he knew that he could really throw me off. After a few fancy dinners later, on August 7, we had a reservation to go to Mitas after work. I came home from work complaining about how stressful my day was; I had ripped off all of my nail polish in a meeting... I didn't want to dress up or do my hair or makeup. Bernie actually picked out my outfit the night of the proposal. After finally getting ready, I came downstairs and into the living room. Bernie had the whole room set up, filled with rose petals and candles, and he was standing in the middle of the room with Messi, our dog, dressed in a bowtie. I was completely shocked. The video of the proposal is actually so hard for me to watch, because I think the only thing I said for an entire minute was "what?!" and "are you kidding me?!" It wasn't until we got to Mitas (and painting my nails!) that I broke down after seeing our family waiting there to surprise us. Best. Night. Ever. Until August 6, 2021 of course! -Jackie