Michelle and Duncan first met at the UCR rock climbing gym sometime in 2015. Michelle was invited to go rock climbing by some of her medical student friends (Pooja and Hurnan) to climb with a group of UCR grad students (Duncan, Harish, and Bryan). They both really enjoyed climbing together, but they went their own separate ways before encountering each other again, 2 years later. Michelle wanted to join the UCR climbing club, so she decided to attend their general meeting. When she got there, she saw Duncan, who happened to be the vice president at the time. The two of them naturally were drawn to each other because they were the 2 oldest in the club. In the course of their blooming friendship, Duncan was asked by Pooja to participate in the Mission Inn Half Marathon with a group of medical students. That was when they both found out that, in addition to having a love for climbing, they also shared a love for running. Their friendship grew and in early 2017, the time was right for Duncan to ask Michelle out on a date. The day after, they ventured out into Joshua Tree National Park, where Michelle belayed Duncan on "Run for your Life," a R-rated, 10b sport climb. The climb took Duncan about 2 hours and Michelle braved the cold winter winds as his belayer. Duncan finished the climb with Michelle's support. From then on, the two of them knew that they made an unstoppable team, and the rest is history...

Duncan and Michelle took a trip to San Diego in August 2018. Duncan booked the cutest pineapple themed hotel in the Gaslamp district and told Michelle that he had reserved a nice restaurant for them in Balboa Park. As Michelle was getting ready, Duncan asked her if she brought a jacket to wear for dinner. She said no. As Duncan heard this, his heart started to beat quickly - He had an engagement ring in a box tucked in the pocket of his suit jacket.He knew that Michelle tends to get cold and ask for his jacket. He had to act quickly, and so he took the ring out of the box and slipped it into his pant pocket. Crisis averted! - or so he thought. As Michelle and Duncan were about to head out, Michelle took a look at Duncan's outfit and thought that his grey slacks would look better than the blue ones. Duncan started sweating as he had to figure a way out of yet another obstacle Michelle unknowingly presented. He sweated as he tried to figure out the best way to transfer the ring from one pant pocket to another. They arrived at Balboa Park early, so Michelle suggested that they take a walk around the park. Score! That was exactly what Duncan had wanted, since his friends were waiting for them in the bushes near the Botanical building. Duncan guided Michelle that direction and they "ran" into Ralph. Michelle was confused, but as soon as she saw Skyler come out from behind a bush recording the two of them and Randy and Tanya walk up with a bouquet of flowers, she knew exactly what was going to happen. Duncan got down on his knee and proposed. She said yes immediately!