Jerrod and I first met back in 2009. We were part of the same friend group, always knew of each other, and hung out a few times with mutual friends, but at the time we were each on our own path. Looking back now, I know that was all for a reason. It wasn’t until February 2015, when we reconnected at a mutual friend’s house, that everything really fell into place. On February 14, 2015, we made it official (convenient being Valentines day), and we have been inseparable ever since. I had just turned 22, and Jerrod was 24. By then, we were past our wild teenage years, and even though we never got together expecting this to be forever, it quickly became clear that what we had was something special. Before long, we both knew we had found our soulmate in each other. We both came into the relationship with our own pasts and over the years we have helped each other through so much. Together, we built trust, grew our love and helped shape one another into who we are today. Marriage was never really a big conversation for us. It was never something I felt I needed or even truly wanted. But after five years together, I was a little tired of looking single, I at least wanted a ring on my finger to show I was committed to someone in this life. Not long after I shared that with Jerrod, he proposed in January 2020. And in true us fashion, it only took a few more years to actually make it down the aisle. We have spent almost our entire adult lives together, always pushing each other to be better, not just better for the relationship, but better than who we used to be. There’s a saying that you can’t truly love someone else until you love yourself, and while there may be some truth to that, our story also proves that love can grow while you’re still learning, healing, and becoming. We loved each other when we felt we had nothing to love— no home, no money, no licenses and no real plan for the future. We may not have fully loved ourselves back then, but we were trying to and we never stopped trying. After 11 years of growing, building and standing by each other, we are walking into this new chapter stronger than ever. The foundation we have built is grounded in trust, respect and love and we truly cannot wait to celebrate this next chapter with all of you by our side.