Rachel was living in Chicago completing her clinical year at Northwestern PA school and would occasionally "watch" football with friends at “Public House,” a local brunch spot. Ryan Shea, John’s roommate, was part of Rachel's weekly football crew. One Saturday in Fall 2017, John decided to join Shea for brunch, and everyone else from the crew, other than Rachel, failed to show up. Rachel and John started to banter and hit it off immediately, leaving Shea as the middle man for a day that ended up at a bowling alley. John is terrible at bowling, but just didn’t want the day to end. After bowling, John kissed Rachel in front of the huge Christmas tree outside of the bowling alley, and she was smitten! A little over a year later, Rachel & John “caught” the garter and bouquet at her sister Danielle's wedding to James. Rachel looked back at the photos (see below) and really loves how hard John fought to snag the garter. John officially became a cat dad in 2022 when Rachel & her two cats, Pompeii ("P") and Cub, moved in with John.

In October 2022, Rachel & John were vacationing in Rome. John led Rachel up a large hill, baiting her with “the best martini bar” that overlooked the entire city. After looking to the Coliseum in the distance, Rachel turned back to find John on one knee. Following a surprise engagement photoshoot around their favorite spots in Rome, Rachel and John spent the rest of the night taking in the city. They closed the exciting day with one last look at the Trevi Fountain, not feeling the need to throw a coin in.