We're getting married!

In 2017, Kirsten and Bruno were about to graduate from high school (4,847.84 miles apart, exactly- Bruno did the math). Kirsten had her heart set on attending the University of Kentucky to study engineering, but Bruno was a completely different story. Bruno planned to study engineering at UFMG in Brazil, but the first of many inflection points changed those plans: Bruno missed his National Exam. Without this exam, attending UFMG was impossible, and Bruno's options for universities in Brazil were limited. He decided to apply to engineering schools in the US. In another twist of fate, Bruno ended up at the University of Kentucky. Go Big Blue! Kirsten and Bruno first met in their sophomore year fluid mechanics class. They were both assigned to workshop group #5, where they were forced to get to know each other over shared homework assignments. A year later, they found themselves in a study group of other engineering students, both invited by mutual friends. Then, in 2020, the pandemic sent everyone home as classes transitioned online. Bruno and Kirsten, having nearly all the same classes, spent a lot of time talking about school. Kirsten managed to convince Bruno to join her Senior Design team before they returned to campus for their final year of undergrad. Having to spend so much time together for capstone, their friendship quickly became a best-friendship, and it was rare to see one without the other. They'd both decided to pursue graduate degrees, but in different disciplines. Kirsten would be continuing her aerospace focus under Dr. Martin, while Bruno wanted to study robotics. Kirsten wanted to get Bruno into her lab, but at the time, it wasn't possible. Through yet another inflection point, Bruno was able to join the same lab, and they worked together on the same project. By this point, everyone was convinced that they were secretly dating, including fellow students and their professors. They weren't, but that's only because they couldn't see what everyone else saw. In 2023, Kirsten received a job offer that would force her to move to Houston, Texas, 15 hours away from Lexington and her best friend. On Kirsten's last day living in Kentucky, she took Bruno for lunch at one of their favorite spots (shoutout Local Taco) to say goodbye. Bruno walked Kirsten to her car, and she was already crying before they got there, even though she said she wouldn't cry. Bruno told her how proud he was of her, they hugged several times, and Kirsten cried even harder. After a series of hugging and crying and probably looking like a couple breaking up, Bruno told her to get in the car and leave, or else they'd never stop. After Kirsten left, they both realized how much they missed each other. Eventually, something knocked some sense into both of them, and they realized this was more than a friendship. A few months after Kirsten left, Bruno asked her to be his girlfriend. Though they were now dealing with a long-distance relationship, they'd both never been happier. They talked about the future like it was a certainty; from the start, they both knew this was it. A couple months after they started dating, they went ring shopping, and then Kirsten cried every other week (or day, according to Bruno) about him not proposing yet. 11 arduous months after they started dating, he finally did.