Kristi and Derek met over fifteen years ago in their high school video class. Kristi was the producer of the Baron Broadcast and Derek joined the class at the beginning of their senior year. Kristi and Derek quickly became friends, hanging out with the other video nerds in class and after filming football games. Derek finally asked Kristi out at a mutual friend's birthday party in the bounce house. Derek asked, "Kristi, where do you see us in the future." Kristi answered, "Together." And it has been true ever since that night.

Derek proposed to Kristi on Monday, June 24, 2019 as Derek and Kristi were driving out to Utah to search for an apartment. They had planned to stop at Zyzzyx Road for Kristi to leave some memory rocks in honor of her father whose ashes were spread there, but Derek had already known this was the spot he planned to propose. After giving Kristi some time to walk around and have a quiet moment to herself, he told her there was something they had to do before placing the rocks. That's when he got down on one knee and showed her the ring they had picked out together. He asked, she said yes, and they both cried. A lot. The rest, as they say, is history.