After dating in high school and breaking up before going to college, they both probably thought that was the end. Especially after they didn’t even see or speak to each other for three years. And even after reconnecting, they still had no idea how much further it would go. But let’s start from the beginning. Mhari and Bryson were introduced to each other by their friend, Clara, at an Abingdon High School football game (go flacons) in September 2017. Their first few interactions were unsurprisingly a little bit awkward (if you know Mhari and Bryson, then you know), but they thankfully made it past that. For a few months Mhari and Bryson were almost always together; whether it was exploring parks and trails, throwing pizza boxes in Mhari’s living room, or stargazing in Bryson’s driveway, they just wanted to be together. But life gets busy. Bryson was playing baseball, Mhari playing soccer, and with senior year coming to a close, they started spending less time together. And after going to prom, graduating, and about to head to different colleges, they broke up. After the breakup, they didn’t speak for a while. They both went off to school and did their own thing. But for some reason in the spring of 2019, they started talking again. And after talking a few times, Bryson realized he wanted to be with Mhari again. The problem was he had decided not to date anyone his first year of college. So Fall finally came around, Bryson reached out to their friend Clara again to see if she thought Mhari would be interested in dating again, but that’s when he found out Mhari had started dating someone else. Oh well. The timing just doesn’t always work out. But what did work out was Mhari and Bryson both going to the Passion Conference with their church. Not much happened here except a few awkward conversations, but this was the last time Mhari and Bryson remember talking at all until April 2023. So what happened between January 2020 and April 2023? They both graduated college, Mhari stayed in Virginia working, Bryson moved to Utah for work, and life moved on as usual. But before we get to April 2023, we pause in February 2023: Unbeknownst to each other, Mhari and Bryson’s relationships had both ended. Then in March, Bryson mentions Mhari to someone and starts thinking about her for the first time in years. He wanted to reach out, but after getting some more advice from Clara (again), he didn’t because he didn’t want to mess anything up for Mhari. Little did they know, Mhari had been invited to another mutual friend’s wedding with a plus one. I bet you can’t guess who she asked. Mhari invited Bryson to go to the wedding with her in June. So for two months leading up to that, they reconnected by reminiscing on the good ol’ days and getting caught up to speed on each other’s lives. At the wedding they talked about their feelings for one another (gross), and they started dating. Except not officially, according to Mhari. She told Bryson that he had to take her on a real date before they could be “dating”. So, in July she came out to visit him in Utah for the first time, they went on their first date after a five year hiatus. After they saw each other in January 2020, Mhari and Bryson had no idea that they would ever even see each other again, much less have their relationship become what it is today. Their story is full of ups and downs, twists and turns, but they hope it lasts them a lifetime, and they can’t wait to see what’s in store :)