One fateful night, Hilary traveled all the way from Brooklyn to meet a couple of friends at 10th and Willow, a bar in Hoboken, New Jersey. Turns out, it was one of Matt's local hangouts, and he had some friends in town. Ten friends, to be exact. They were all sitting in a corner when Hilary spotted them. Matt especially. She walked up and asked, "Why are you all just sitting in the corner together?" And one of them responded, "We were Boston University's wrestling team." Hilary stopped cold. B.U.? She'd gone to B.U. The conversation flowed from there, and Matt asked for (and got) Hilary's number. Their first date was at a paella restaurant in Manhattan. The food was amazing, but the conversation was better. They both noticed a deep intellectual connection right away, and realized they had a lot in common, including astrology--as Matt deduced, they were both water signs (his cosmic knowledge impressed Hilary)! Their romance continued with dates in New York, including drinks at a cocktail bar underneath Chelsea Market, a trip to Smorgasburg, strolls through flea markets, and heading to climb an outdoor rock wall in Dumbo. Matt further impressed Hilary by regularly traveling to Brooklyn to see her, even once renting a bike to ride from the waterfront to meet her at dinner. Hilary was won over by Matt's kind heart, loving dedication to his family and friends, quirky humor, and insightfulness. Matt was drawn to Hilary's intuition, intelligence, sense of adventure, and creativity. Eventually, Hilary moved to Hoboken and they built a life together there, before moving down to the Jersey Shore and getting their fur child, a golden retriever named Ollie who they love to bits. Along the way, Hilary gained a healthy appreciation for the Italian culture and food Matt loves so much, especially his mother Donna's famous, unrivaled homemade meatballs. Matt, for his part, embraced his Californian alter-ego.