I wish I remembered the day we met a little better, a few more of the details, since it's a day that changed both of our lives. But at the time, a September afternoon in 2018, it was just another day at WJZ for me, and the first day of a new job in Baltimore for Anthony. Our first impressions - I remember his kind eyes and genuine smile. He thought I was mean. Fast forward a few weeks, now Anthony's training wheels are off, and it's show time. I was producing the 5pm news, and he was directing it. We were forced to be teammates, its just the nature of the job. But when your teammate forgets to do a major part of his job, it's hard to forgive and forget. The show was a near disaster, but to Anthony's small credit, it wasn't. It was just super chaotic behind the scenes, but no one watching the news at home knew the difference. I, however, had a few choice words for Anthony. He made my life harder and I mean, how do you forget a major part of your job?! So I did what any other annoyed employee would do, and I went to complain to our boss. I don't remember exactly what I said, but it was something along the lines of, "I don't want to work with him anymore." Unbeknownst to me at the time, he didn't appreciate those choice words I had for him, so he too went to our boss and said the exact same thing. Fortunately for us, you can't pick your coworkers, your teammates. So we kept working together. He didn't love my stubbornness, and I didn't love his. I didn't love all his opinions, and he didn't love mine. But we developed deep respect for each other's passion and talent. I even requested to work with him and only him when I had the chance. Somewhere along the way, we were coworkers turned friends. We would share late-night texts after work (he was always looking for an excuse to hit me up). Then he finally got the courage to ask me if I'd ever been to Di Pasquale's, an Italian market and eatery. I said no, and asked if he wanted to order dinner from there one night, something we often did on the night shift. He was offended I didn't realize he was asking me out to lunch. But he wasn't clear! One summer afternoon before work, we met at Di Pasquale's. He wanted his favorite tuna hoagie, and I wanted an Italian sub, but we both ordered less smelly and not so messy options. We had a great time, lots of laughs and no awkwardness. I knew we were starting something special when he texted me 5 minutes after we said goodbye (really, it was 5 minutes. And we were about to see each other at work.)

Two years after that first date at Di Pasquale's, I was offered a dream job in New York City. Anthony and I talked about our future and marriage often, but this threw a wrench into our plans and timeline. Despite dreading another move, especially to the Big Apple, this proud Philly boy supported me every step of the way. So we packed up and left our first apartment together, that we loved so much, so I could follow my dream. That's how we ended up in Central Park on a sunny January afternoon. Anthony got tickets to The Met, but before going inside, he suggested a walk in the park. We walked to Bethesda Fountain. He was so nervous, and I knew why. In the cutest way, he started anxiously laughing then the tears started flowing before he got down on one knee and he finally asked the question I had waited ages to hear. Before I knew it, I was crying too and everyone around us started clapping as he got up and kissed me.