Aitor and Fernanda met in their freshman Physics I lab in college. Fernanda was on time (of course), but Aitor was late (though he insists he was not). When he got to class, there were only two lab groups with seats left - one of which was next to Fernanda. Fernanda hoped he'd pick the other so that she wouldn't be distracted all semester by how cute he was, but no such luck. They definitely distracted each other but aced the class anyway (though Fernanda claims she did better!). The timing wasn't right just yet, but they stayed in touch. In 2019 when Fernanda was finishing up grad school and moving back to Orlando, circumstances aligned and they made it official!

When they first started dating, Aitor and Fernanda were out in Winter Park and Aitor knelt to tie his shoes. Fernanda had a split-second of panic, thinking “Is he proposing???? We haven’t talked about this!!!!” They laughed and went on with the night. In December of 2020, Aitor took Fernanda out on a surprise date to that same place and reminded her of that moment of confusion. That time, when he got down on one knee, it wasn’t to tie his shoes. And that time Fernanda said yes with her whole heart.