Marlee and Ryan met when they were only eight-years-old on a hot summer's day in Cleveland, Georgia.... possibly. They were in the same unit at camp and have a picture to prove it (see gallery section), but neither can recall the other. Ryan wanted more sports, so he switched camps and vowed to never return to Coleman. Little did he know...

Ryan was sitting at his table, minding his own business, when Marlee rudely interrupted his evening to introduce herself. "You know my sister," Marlee yelled over the not-so-loud music. "Let's send her a picture!" Ryan (kind of) grinned and complied and Marlee demanded his number so she could send him the picture, too. Then, she walked away and they didn't speak again for the rest of the night. In the following months, Marlee and Ryan texted every now and then, but it wasn't until Ryan asked Marlee in March of 2022 if she was working at camp that things started to get interesting.

Whenever someone asks why Ryan worked at camp in 2022, Ryan says its because his sister-in-law Lindsey asked him to. Marlee swears its because he wanted to get to know her. You decide who to believe. On their first day at camp, Ryan helped Marlee unpack her car. Marlee helped Ryan with his knots. They sat on the swing and looked at the stars. Their first date (if you can call it that) was at Wendy's, where they talked until they had to rush back for curfew. Ryan rode around the golf cart with Marlee when she was working late. Marlee went out to the Warrior Course every morning so Ryan could spot her on the Warp Wall. During intersession, they attempted to go on a fancy date, but Marlee saw a Waffle House and Ryan promptly cancelled their dinner reservation. At the end of the summer, they both returned to South Florida where Marlee was in school and Ryan was working. Once she graduated, they moved back to Georgia and truly started their lives together.

Have you ever seen two penguins walking around the Atlanta Botanical Gardens? If you were there on January 7, 2025, you would have. Marlee had a feeling Ryan was going to propose that night, seeing as he had taken her to get her nails done the weekend before, so Marlee insisted that they wear their penguin onesies to keep warm (and because penguins mate for life). They walked around for a few minutes and once Ryan made sure there was NO ONE around to see, he dropped to one knee and asked Marlee to marry him. She said yes (obviously... this website wouldn't exist otherwise) and now you all get to go to a party!