Brandon and Melissa first met at Brandon's fraternity house, Phi Tau, at Bradley University. Melissa had just come from another fraternity's Halloween party and stumbled upon Brandon, coming up the stairs from (shockingly) the library. Melissa looked at Brandon and just had to ask if he knew her name. Needless to say, he did not... Two months later, Melissa found herself going to celebrate a friend's birthday. Lucky for her (but really him), Brandon was a part of the celebration. Within just a few weeks, Melissa had taken Brandon out for ice cream on his 20th birthday in which he insisted on having two ice cream cones. From there, she was asked to his fraternity date party and out to breakfast at Childer's Eatery in Peoria. On May 4, 2017, they made it official when Brandon asked Melissa to be his girlfriend. Brandon and Melissa have been through many stages of life together ever since. Early into their relationship, they dated long distance while he worked in Iowa and she in Illinois. Even still, many trips were made back and forth to one another. After a year, Brandon chose to move to Chicago (them both THRILLED) and their commute lessened. During this time, Brandon and Melissa enjoyed time with friends nearby and began getting to know each other's family more and more. In 2021, Brandon and Melissa moved into their first apartment in Bucktown, and then a year later, to the spot they have currently lived in Gold Coast for the past three. Since living in the city, they love each other's company and taking walks along the lake. Being with friends and family has always a priority to each of them, in addition to exploring the next delicious restaurant on their list. In May 2024, Brandon surprised Melissa outside of Gibson's Italia on the Chicago River Walk by getting down on one knee. So everyone knows...there was NO charity event that he talked about for a month, and YES, they bought her dress together the day of the engagement. While they both may not remember exactly what was said, the words, "best friend," "7 years," and "YES" will never be forgotten.