We first met at East Carolina University. After graduating, we reconnected after learning we were both living in Charlotte, NC. On our first date, we made homemade pizza and danced to Billie Holiday, and we both knew we had found something special.

Over the holidays in 2019, Jake proposed to Kirsti at her grandparents farm in Norway. He decorated the barn where Kirsti grew up playing every summer. Surrounded by flower petals and light up "Marry Me" letters, Jake and Kirsti got engaged. They celebrated their engagement over the holiday with Kirsti's family.