In early 2022, Kelly was embracing a fresh start and building new friendships. Through Bumble BFF, she met Denisse, and the two quickly hit it off. Denisse was dating (and is now married to) Josh—Ray’s best friend since second grade. As Denisse’s new circle of girlfriends grew, Josh kept joking that she should set Ray up with one of them. During a Galentine’s Day winery trip, Denisse actually tried to do just that—showing Ray’s photo to one of her friends. Kelly happened to be there, and when she saw the picture too, something clicked. A few weeks later, she joined Denisse for a girls’ wine night at her house and met Josh in person. After a little small talk, Josh said, “You need to meet my friend Ray. He’s a great guy, lives just down the street, and he’s an actuary.” (Though, to be fair, he couldn’t explain what that actually meant.) Not long after, Josh proposed to Denisse at their home. Ray was at the celebration, and behind the scenes, Josh was busy hyping Kelly up to him. Instead of just handing over her number, Josh decided a blind double date would be the safest move—he was convinced Ray might be too out of practice to text her without messing it up. That plan fizzled… but on April 7, 2022, he finally passed along her number. Two days later, on April 9th, they went on their first date. They met at Mon Chou Chou, a cozy French restaurant at the Pearl. Since their preferred reservation time was booked, Ray suggested they meet earlier to hang out beforehand. From the first moment, conversation was effortless. Nervous about mispronouncing the menu, they asked the waiter to surprise them. They stayed until closing, took a stroll along the River Walk, and ended up spending over six hours together that night. It was only the beginning—but it felt like home from the start.