Michael and Alina met on a dating app called Bumble. They both had been giving online dating a try for much longer than they had anticipated and were about to give call it quits when they matched in October 2021. They messaged on the app for about one week before exchanging numbers which lead to texting, calling and FaceTiming for the next month. Since Michael was living in Tacoma and Alina in Portland, this was the only way they could get to know each other. After that month had passed, Michael traveled down to Portland for the weekend so they could finally meet in person. One week later, they were officially together!