Abbey's first day at Nestle in Ft Wayne, IN, Matt walked in the door and sat down at the conference table to introduce himself to the new team sitting way on the other end of the table from Abbey. Little did she know that over seven months time, Matt was admiring from a far until January of 2020 when he would finally make his move and ask her on a date. Matt would then learn not long after that he was being moved to Cleveland, OH. Disappointed by this news as their relationship had started a mere few weeks prior, by chance, Abbey received the call that she too would be moving to Cleveland in around a month. Once Abbey had moved too, Matt would spend his work weeks traveling all over the country working on projects and would make the long 5+ hour car ride or flight back to Cleveland every weekend to spend time with her.

Valentines Day weekend 2022, Matt had surprised Abbey with a winery tour outside of the city and plans for a romantic dinner in Charlotte afterwards. What Abbey didn't realize was that while she was enjoying her wine tasting, her family and friends were preparing to surprise her after the proposal. Matt had spent months before orchestrating for both of their families and friends to make the trip down and surprise Abbey so that everyone they loved could be in one place without her knowing. After returning to the city, Abbey and Matt walked their way through Uptown Charlotte to dinner and cut through their favorite park, The Green, where Matt pointed out roses and a note sitting under the Charlotte sign. Little did Abbey know as well, Matt's sister Libby was hiding in the bushes ready to secretly take pictures of the proposal. He prompted Abbey to open the note where there was a simple "I love you" written (the same way Matt told Abbey he loved her for the first time) and he got down on one knee and asked Abbey to marry him. After a very quick YES!, they took pictures and headed to a restaurant where they were greeted by friends and family who all traveled in to celebrate the weekend with them.