Madilynn forcefully became aware of Eric during senior year of high school, when her very eager friend Jake started talking about his soon-to-be Freshman roommate. Jake described Eric as, "a recently single and heart-broken guy who also has an interest in math and drums". Needless to say, Madilynn didn't think much of Eric after high school, not until college started at least. It was on the evening of September 28, 2014, while Madilynn was finishing up some homework in her Freshman dorm room at Hamline University, that she received a very peculiar Facebook message. It was a message from Eric. He had sent a picture of a cat wearing, what looked like, clown make-up. "I hate cats...and clowns", Madi responded. And they lived happily ever after!

Eric and Madilynn soon became best friends during Fall of 2014. Being math nerds, Madilynn and Eric had been talking about their plans for the Pi Day of the Century for quite some time. Madilynn knew it would be the perfect time to make their relationship official. So on March 14, 2015 at 9:26am, Madilynn and Eric started their relationship.

Throughout college our anniversary fell over spring break for Eric at the U of M. Each year (besides freshman year), Eric went on a trip with his friends so we celebrated our anniversary either before or after the break. When senior year came around, we were approaching our 3 year anniversary. This was a milestone for both of us because it marked the longest either of us had ever been in a relationship. Like the last few years, Eric had scheduled a trip to Colorado with his friends for spring break and their return day was March 15th, one day too late. However, unknown to Madilynn, Eric had been planning a surprise return since January. He had been talking to one of his friends from high school who worked at a jewelry store and picked out a ring. He also bought a ticket for a flight home from Denver early in the morning of March 14th. When he landed in Minneapolis, he picked up flowers and a gift for Madilynn and surprised her at the front door at her house. After spending some time talking and a trip to Five Guys, Eric gave Madilynn her gift from Colorado, a small tea pot (or as he phrased it: "a little pot from Colorado"), and inside was the note "will you marry me?" After some tears, Madilynn confirmed to Eric that her answer was yes!