Maddy and Cole met at the University of Illinois when Maddy was a freshman and Cole was a graduating senior. They met on a dating app, and had their first date at a sushi restaurant. On their first date, they discovered that they both drove vehicles with flames on them in high school— Maddy’s flame mini-van “Eugene the Machine” and Cole’s flaming purple PT Cruiser. The rest was history!

Cole proposed to Maddy at the Aurora Country Club at their 3rd of July event, right before the firework show, surrounded by her family. 5 years prior at the same event, Maddy had introduced Cole to her extended family as her boyfriend.