The couple met when they were both working at Maria's Pizza and Pasta in Conshohocken. Julian worked on training Michaella when she first started, and Michaella decided they were going to be best friends. Julian never really liked making new friends, especially with coworkers, so Michaella made most of the effort to be friendly at first. Eventually, Julian caved and became friendly enough with Michaella that they would hang out outside of work. They made it a monthly tradition to go to the movies after work and she even joined him at a couple of Temple football games (Go Owls). When Michaella went to college, Julian thought they would not see each other as much, but their friendship continued even at a distance. They talked the entire time Michaella was at college, and would hang out every time she came home.

After 4 years of friendship, COVID hit in March of 2020 and sent Michaella home from college to take virtual classes. Since everyone was quarantined during that time, Michaella would go to Julian's house to sit in the backyard and talk at a distance. After months of hanging out, Julian confessed romantic feelings for Michaella. They continued to spend time together during every free moment they had, until Julian officially asked Michaella to be his girlfriend on August 1st, 2020.

During a trip to visit Michaella's friends in Durham, NC, the couple visited Duke Gardens. They found a nice spot to take photos, and Michaella's friends took a few photos of the couple. After looking at the pictures, Michaella said she did not like them. Her friends asked why and she said because her face looked weird and she needed to fix it. Julian then said "well then you're about to hate me". In a state of confusion, Michaella turned to ask what that meant, and Julian was getting down on one knee with the ring box in hand. Julian was so excited he didn't even hear Michaella say yes, and Michaella was so excited she did not stop shaking for an hour after the fact.