Kearra and Paul met in July of 2021 on the dating app, Hinge. Despite realizing they lived 100 miles apart, they decided to keep talking. They each quickly discovered how the other was excellent at both maintaining conversation and all around being cool. They met in person in Richmond for the first time the following month, and shortly afterwards started officially dating. During the rest of 2021, the two explored Richmond and Arlington together, and started many longstanding traditions such as visiting Carter’s Mountain in the fall, hanging out with friends on Halloween, and quoting the show Breaking Bad at any opportunity. 2022 was a test for Kearra and Paul, as they continued to live so far apart, largely only able to visit every other week. Paul continued working as a software developer in Arlington, VA, as Kearra wrapped up her graduate studies in Urban and Regional Planning at VCU. Aside from their first flying trip together to New Orleans over the summer, the highlight was Kearra’s graduation that December, allowing her to return to her hometown of Alexandria, VA. Kearra and Paul moved into an apartment together in Alexandria, VA on New Years eve of that year, utilizing a promotion expiring that very day. Being together at last, 2023 marked many more adventures. Aside from major trips to Universal Studios, or back down to Virginia Beach for 4th of July, they often visited DC, nearby malls, and the variety of cuisine along Route One. Most notably, they began regularly going for walks at the nearby Fort Hunt Park to ensure they spent time together after the insanity of the day before. Not entirely happy with their current jobs, both supported each other in switching to new, better positions that fall. Kearra joined her destined company of WMATA, and Paul joined Edge360 to pursue more than just database maintenance. It was around this time, they too finally decided to adopt a cat. They were fortunate enough to find the cutest tuxedo cat in the entire Alexandria area. He was named Lux, and when he wasn’t screaming in the early morning, the trio lived in their apartment in peace. Mostly comfortable professionally and with their relationship, throughout 2024, a sense of normalcy really sunk in. But ever anxious about the next steps, Kearra and Paul talked extensively about their future. There were unknowns and fears, especially in the world around them, but the pair held strong. By the summer of 2025, their shared vision for the future, together, had solidified. Paul proposed to Kearra while visiting the beautiful Fort Hunt Park, which had marked so much of their shared time together. Kearra was unsurprised, but overjoyed. The future ahead didn’t look easy or at all simple, but since they’d share it together, both were ready to embrace it.