Kat and Richie met on Hinge, and the first thing he ever said to her was: “What does a time traveler do when he’s hungry? Go back 4 seconds.” Yes, the dad jokes started immediately. And no… they haven’t stopped since. At the time, Richie was in the Air Force and constantly traveling (that Germany trip was just one of many), while Kat was working nights as an ER nurse. They were both night shifters, so finding time to actually see each other felt like solving a scheduling puzzle. Somehow, between jet lag, night shifts, and exhaustion, they made it work. Their very first date was in Fishtown, starting at St. Oner’s, where they bonded over their love of Tired Hands Brewing. From there, they hopped to El Jefe for tacos, then Frankford Hall for more beers, Barcade for sticky video games and even more beers, and finally ended the night at Garage. Looking back, it was a full-on marathon of drinks, food, and laughing—and yes, Kat said she actually let Richie drive her home on their very first date (don’t tell her mom). One of their earliest true rom-com moments came soon after. Richie had just gotten back from Germany, and in the middle of the night, he picked Kat up from Frankford Hall and drove her all the way to LBI to watch the sunrise together. She had barely known him, so Kat said she had a brief thought of, “Is this how I get kidnapped?” Instead, he spent the entire drive farting and blaming it on an egg sandwich. Somehow, between his conspiracy theories about birds being CIA agents and the actual sunrise, Kat said she started falling for him. That morning light felt different—like the beginning of something real. Since then, they’ve built a life full of night shifts, long-distance FaceTimes, dog hair (thanks to Gus and Shaggy), spontaneous food adventures, and way too much ice cream. Richie still tells terrible jokes, but he makes her laugh every single day—and that’s how Kat said she knew he was her person.

And then came the proposal—straight out of a rom-com, complete with rain, mud, and chaos. It was a gloomy, rainy April week, and Richie insisted they go to the tulip farm, like they do every year. Kat wanted absolutely no part of it. She was grumpy, still in her pajamas, trying to convince him to stay home. But he was weirdly insistent, claiming it was the only free weekend they had. Even stranger? He asked her to do her hair and makeup “real pretty”—something he had never once cared about. Suspicious, Kat checked all her friends’ locations, texted her best friend, and declared the whole thing very sus. Little did she know, Richie was panic-texting her at the same time because she refused to get ready. Her friend’s advice: “Let her be. She’s stubborn.” The drive to Dalton’s Farm was a complete downpour. Kat stayed silent, half asleep, while Richie nervously sweated beside her. When they arrived, the rain slowed—but the parking lot was pure mud. The second she stepped out of the car, her foot sank straight into it, confirming that Kat said she was absolutely right to be miserable. In the tulip field, Richie tried to be sweet, asking which colors she wanted. Kat, still cranky and muddy, told him to pick whatever he wanted. Eventually, he bent down to grab a red tulip and struggled a bit. When she went to help, he stayed kneeling and said, “Kathleen Jamora Salinel…” That’s when it hit her. He said all the sweet, gushy things (which Kat said she immediately blacked out from crying), and when he finally asked her to spend the rest of her life with him, her first response—very romantic—was, “You dick!” followed by an immediate yes. She cried uncontrollably into his jacket, only to hear someone yell, “Hey, turn around!” Richie had secretly hired a photographer—who captured her full, ugly-cry face forever. It wasn’t a sunny day or a perfectly planned moment. It was muddy, rainy, emotional, and completely them. From dad jokes and night shifts to sunrise drives, dogs, chaos, and unconditional love—he’s been her favorite story from the very start, and Kat said she can’t wait to spend forever laughing through life with him.