Seemingly countless decisions and results had to fall into place for Lizzie and Joe to meet. Lizzie joined a group chat started by a couple UWM Honors College students freshman year of college. One day, they met up in-person, and Lizzie almost didn't go. But, she's glad she did because she met Morgan, a friend of Joe's best friend Noah. The four started playing Skribbl.io together over Zoom (boo COVID), then Lizzie and Joe started watching "The Walking Dead" and "Jane the Virgin" together over Skype. The start of their dating chapter began with a night of ice skating and bowling for their first in-person meeting and a rainy visit to the zoo for their first date. The rest is history!

Joe proposed on his 22nd birthday - which made it even more surprising to Lizzie! The entire week was a series of unintentional clues dropped by Joe. It all started when Joe said he was going to hang out with a friend after work one day. He even packed a bag of clean clothes to change into after work! But, he didn't need the work clothes because when he arrived to his friend's place, he was sick. In reality, he wasn't going to his friend's house--he was going to pick up the ring he bought a few weeks prior when he got a hair cut when Lizzie was out of town! While Lizzie was a little suspicious, she didn't think that much of it. Joe kept the ring in his backpack all week. The second unintentional clue came Friday night before the proposal when Lizzie gave Joe his birthday gifts. She got him a Star Wars sweatshirt, and when asked if he was going to wear it on his birthday the next day, he said, "No, it's not formal enough." Well, that's a weird thing to say. But, maybe Lizzie's intermediate sense of style has rubbed off on him? On Saturday morning, Lizzie volunteered at UWM's Make a Difference Day doing some light yard work. When she got home, Joe was insistent that she shower, clean up, and wear a cute outfit that he even picked out. Joe was annoyed that he put too much pomade in his hair. He usually doesn't care that much about his hair looking a little off, so this was the third major clue. The plan was to go to Joe's favorite restaurant, Yummy Bones, and then go to the bluff and go grocery shopping. Fourth clue: Joe fought to go grocery shopping first, but Lizzie insisted it made more sense to go to the bluff first. He seemed thrown off when the order of plans changed. When they get to the bluff, Lizzie jokingly points to a set of stairs overlooking Lake Michigan and says, "That would be a good place to propose." Joe then says to pull over and park, and he starts walking towards said stairs. When they got to the platform at the top of the stairs, they were overlooking Lake Michigan. Joe was visibly nervous and wouldn't hug or come close to Lizzie. He kept his hands in his pockets. Lizzie's suspicion was certainly growing! What sealed the deal was when Lizzie went to hug Joe, he grabbed his coat pocket with the opposite hand, pulling it away from Lizzie. Joe's eyes said more than his mouth as he got down on one knee, and Lizzie said YES!!