In late August 2020, Mike saw a cute woman pop-up on his Hinge profile. She was drinking a Goose Island beer so it was a must swipe right from his perspective. For Kirsten, it was Mike's witty prompts & his photos showing him out and about enjoying time with his friends. We had to get creative dating during a pandemic, which meant finding different outdoor activities around the city and unique at-home dates. Our first date was at Moonlighter sitting under a covered patio during the first day of the NFL season. However, without realizing, Kirsten took the site that facing the outdoor TVs. This would have proved difficult for Mike in any other situation but spending time with Kirsten made him quickly forget football was even happening. For Kirsten, she quickly realized her and Mike had a lot in common as they spent nearly 4 hours at dinner rather than the typical 2 hour dinner date. Fast forward to May 2023, Kirsten and Mike were getting ready to head back to Chicago after a long weekend in California for her friend's wedding. Mike told Kirsten about a gorgeous lookout his client told him about (but really Mike found it on his own but knew Kirsten would be suspect that Mike was doing such advanced planning). They asked a stranger to take a photo and as Mike handed his phone over, he told the random guy he was about to get down on one knee. The rest is history.