Matt and Karlie’s story began long before they ever dated. They first met at Cardinal Heights Upper Middle School, better known as CHUMS, during their freshman year of high school. Matt always thought Karlie was easy on the eyes, but the two stayed friends through CHUMS and later at Sun Prairie High School. After a short senior-year fling, they went their separate ways, convinced that was the end of the story. Athletics took Karlie to Loyola in Chicago and Matt to Xavier in Cincinnati. After a freshman year of limited communication, the two, along with one of Karlie’s best friends, Lauren, went on their first quasi-date at Vintense Golf Land that summer, and everything changed. Snapchats turned into texts, texts into FaceTimes, and soon Karlie made the six-hour drive to Cincinnati during the fall of their sophomore year. By the end of that weekend, they both knew this was something special. On December 1st 2021, Matt took Karlie to a steak dinner in Madison and officially asked her to be his girlfriend. Right around the time Matt and Karlie began dating in late 2021, Karlie’s mom, Kim, was diagnosed with stage 4 gallbladder cancer. This marked the start of a year-long battle, which ended on September 7, 2022. Karlie lost not only her mother, but her best friend. During that unimaginable time, Matt and Karlie grew stronger in both their relationship and their faith, leaning on each other through heartbreak and uncertainty and forming a bond that only continued to strengthen. They continued their long-distance relationship through graduations, athletic seasons, and many long drives between Cincinnati and Chicago. When Matt graduated in 2024 and Karlie took her fifth year of eligibility at Lipscomb University in Nashville, they knew exactly where their story was headed. After years of separation, they are ready to begin the next chapter together, surrounded by the people they love most!