Jai is Gujarati-American & grew up in Walnut, CA. He graduated from UC Irvine & went on to teach in South Korea for one year. After a series of career moves, he currently works as a Manager of Marketing Analytics at the Environmental Defense Fund. He's a lifelong fan of the Los Angeles Lakers & his music tastes range from hip-hop to K-pop. Mary Anne is Filipina-American & grew up in West Covina, CA. She graduated from the University of La Verne & went on to finish a Ph.D. in Political Science at UC Irvine. She is currently an Assistant Professor at Cal Poly Pomona. She is an avid lover of ABBA & the Golden Girls.

Once upon a time, December of 2019 to be exact, a Data Analyst named Jai & a Political Scientist named Mary Anne met on a dating app called Coffee Meets Bagel.

When they first met, Jai was working full-time in Pasadena. He would commute to work while Mary Anne was finishing her Ph.D. in Irvine & teaching in Pomona. Their first date was at Eureka! in Claremont, which started off a series of dinner dates after work & day-long dates on the weekend. They went on a total of 10 dates in that first month, which was perfectly timed right before a pandemic plunged the world into a lockdown.

In March 2020, the world was plunged into lockdown by a mysterious, crown-related plague. Mary Anne & Jai spent months working from home, reminding folks that they were still on mute, & perfecting their home office setup. Jai had just recently started a new job at Exploding Kittens while Mary Anne defended her dissertation & graduated with her Ph.D. in the Spring. The pair celebrated these milestones with lots of takeout & Zoom hangouts.

To celebrate their second anniversary in December 2021, Jai setup a scavenger hunt. It started at Cactus Coffee, Mary Anne's favorite coffee shop where they first had a work date. They moved to Cafe Wang, where they had their last indoor meal before lockdown. This followed through to Eurkea! in Claremont, the site of their first date, before Jai got down on one knee at the Botanical Gardens in Claremont.

After several months of visiting open houses, Jai & Mary Anne moved into their first home together in April 2022. They are living happily with Wine Wednesdays and Pizza Thursdays.