Even though they were both students at Northern Michigan in Marquette, Jeff and Marlo actually met for the first time at Michigan Tech in Houghton. They were both in town for Winter Carnival and celebrating with mutual friends, somehow ending up at the same house. The first connection was when Marlo offered to give Jeff and his friends a ride downtown for the night. The drive was short and simple, it ended with Jeff getting Marlo's phone number so he could call her later that night for a ride home. The phone never rang that night for a ride home, but a few days later there was a text. Then a call, a meetup, and eventually several rides downtown. Little did Marlo know that when she offered to give a ride that night, she signed up for a long future of driving Jeff around.
Marlo and Jeff started dating at the end of Marlo's freshman year of college. While Jeff stayed in Marquette for the summer, Marlo went home to North Branch. After a summer of long-distance, they spent the next year of school always together outside of work and class. Following that year, they got their first apartment together. Two years after that, they started their largest journey yet. They packed their bags, cars, and a U-Haul to drive 1,000+ miles to their new home in North Carolina. The next two years came with a lot of memorable moments. Grad school, new careers, puppies, new friends, a pandemic, loss and hardships, new house construction, and many more. Finally, after 5 years of going steady. Jeff got down on one knee and asked Marlo to marry him. She said YES!