Mackenzie and Joe met through her brother, Clayton. Clayton and Joe are good friends from dental school. At the time, Mackenzie was living in Chicago and Joe was living in Columbus. Clayton planned a weekend trip to visit Mackenzie in the big city and Joe decided to tag along. Sure enough, Mackenzie and Joe ended up hitting it off! The following week Joe called Mackenzie and asked if she had weekend plans. She didn't so Joe decided to make the trip back to Chicago to see her again. He planned on leaving Columbus Saturday morning to arrive in Chicago Saturday afternoon but that plan soon changed. He called Mackenzie Friday night and they spent hours on the phone together. At 2am Joe said "I'm not tired, might as well just come now and spend the whole day with you" so he drove through a snow storm in the middle of the night to see Mackenzie. That morning, Mackenzie left her apartment to attend an early morning workout class and left her apartment door unlocked. When she got home, Joe was waiting for her and they have been inseparable ever since.

Joe proposed to Mackenzie on November 24th, 2017 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, the night before the big game! Their engagement was a little unexpected for their families but Joe and Mackenzie knew they wanted to be together forever after a few short weeks of dating each other. On the night of their engagement, Joe and Mackenzie were out in Ann Arbor with her brother Clayton. They all had dinner together, and as Clayton decided to stay out a little later, they went home for the night. They sat together on the couch and talked for hours about life, love, and their future plans together. Just before they went to bed, Joe told Mackenzie to hold on for just one moment as he walked out of the room and shut the door. Mackenzie was a little confused and was wondering what on earth he was doing as she heard him fumbling around with his keys. A few minutes later, Joe walked back in the room, got down on one knee and proposed with a ring from his car keys! He told her that he couldn't wait any longer and that this was the perfect moment. And of course, she said YES! The next morning, they put on their Buckeye gear and ran to the first jewelry store that opened in Ann Arbor and purchased an engagement ring. Mackenzie tried on just a few and found one she loved almost immediately. They spent the rest of the day celebrating with family and friends. Mackenzie was able to mount the key ring with a picture to save the memory of that special night. Some of their friends say this was one of the happiest days in Joe's life because he got engaged to his future wife and... the Buckeyes beat Michigan.