Ry's Perspective: Christmas 2019, what a time to be alive. As I sipped wine and snuck another biscotti from my Aunt Donna’s desert tray, I gazed around the room with love in my heart and a pep in my step. 2020 was going to be my best year yet—excelling in the office, taking trips with friends, spending holidays with family and taking advantage of the vibrant social scene that New York City and Hoboken had to offer. Yes, 2020 was going to be a great year, but I couldn’t help feeling like something was missing from my life. Like most twenty-somethings in 2019, I had recently downloaded the dating app, Hinge, as a method for finding love. Despite my father’s disappointment and general confusion around having to “resort” to using an app, I knew this offered the greatest statistical odds of finding that unique and special someone I’d always been looking for. And on Christmas night, 2019, with my family making memories around me, I opened my phone to find just that person. “Most Compatible” is how Hinge classified us, and I have to say, I’m still in awe of how well the algorithm nailed it. She looked so beautiful in her photos, and you could tell her responses were written by an incredibly sweet and genuine person. I immediately “swiped right”, telling the app that I was interested, and proceeded to check my phone every 15 minutes for the rest of the night, waiting for her reciprocal swipe to come through. I can still feel how excited I was to wake up to that match from her the next day. After a few days of easy conversation, I returned home from time with family and made plans to meet at a restaurant called Ivy Lane in Manhattan on January 3rd. I got there early (like I usually do when I go places) eagerly awaiting her arrival, and I remember I had the biggest smile once she finally walked through the door. It really hasn’t left my face since. I feel very lucky to say that, while 2020 didn’t allow me to make any of those memories I was looking forward to making that Christmas, it was still the best year of my life, because it was the year I met Mai Mack. Mai's Perspective: It was a chilly winter day in Cincinnati, Ohio as I sat on the floor of my grandparents guest room, thinking how different this Christmas would look after just suddenly moving back from California two months earlier. Not really knowing where home would be and unsure of where life would go next, I thought why not try Hinge, the ever-so-popular dating app. Once opening Hinge, a message at the top of my screen declared Ryan Shields and myself most compatible. I couldn't help but be drawn to his ocean blue eyes, that amazing smile, and of course the adorable baby featured in his profile picture. On December 26, 2019, like a Christmas wish come true, a message came through from Ryan Shields telling me how he thought the answers to my profile questions were so genuine and asking the name of the dog in my pictures. I quickly fell into conversation with him, and we talked everyday till we decided to meet. January 3, 2020, we met at a restaurant in New York City, just a few blocks away from my studio, at a place called Ivy Lane. I had some time to admire the ivy crawling up the whole building, as I nervously paced outside; I wasn't used to going on dates. Once I finally made it into Ivy Lane I walked all the way to the back to find Ryan with those bright blue eyes and sporting a good ole' no shave November beard. He looked mighty fine with a beard, and our conversation was so easy and fun. I couldn't stop smiling. I thought he was just the cutest. The rest of the night melted away into seamless conversation and endless smiles. With the most memorable kiss to end the night, we both left knowing an undeniable connection had been found...

On March 15, 2022, half way through our road trip, after a day of exploring Nashville, including attending the Grand Ole Opry, we headed home to our charming treehouse and campfire. My best friend and the love of my life then got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. Unreal. A little girl’s biggest dream come true. -Mai