What does an ostrich egg and a beach trip have in common? They both helped spark a romance that has blossomed into a deep connection, a thriving family and a celebration of love set to take place this November. Their first conversation on the dating app Hinge centered around Ryan's reminiscing of hard boiling an ostrich egg for a Fourth of July party and Nikki sharing her plans to take her children (Miranda & Daniel) to a beach resort for the weekend. After two weeks of bonding via messages (including a guilty pleasure affinity for the Netflix show Is It Cake?) Ryan met Nikki for cocktails. They met at Pilar's, a martini bar in Downtown Winter Garden. Ryan's first impressions were centered around Nikki's bright smile (and worrying that Nikki was way out his league), while Nikki's included being pleasantly surprised that Ryan was as tall as advertised on his profile and that his pictures didn't do him justice. After discussions of travel destinations, the auditory system, and sharing answers to a food-based hypothetical, Nikki offered to drive Ryan to his car parked in the residential area a few blocks away from Pilar's (This would not be the last shared moment at this location, but more on that in a moment.) They embraced for a goodbye hug, both with a feeling of wanting more and the unspoken thought that they would be seeing each other again very soon.

On their 9-month anniversary, Ryan & Nikki celebrated with a lovely meal at Market to Table in Downtown Winter Garden. After finishing up, Ryan suggested walking next door to the place they first met, Pilar's, for a nightcap and some reminiscing. To wrap up the evening, Ryan had the "spontaneous" idea of walking over to the exact spot in the neighborhood where Nikki dropped him off at the end of their first date. As the sun was setting on them standing alone on the quiet block, Ryan noted that he felt this was a special spot, not knowing for sure that a second date was imminent nine months prior. He dropped to one knee and shared with Nikki that since their first date, there hasn't been a single moment that he didn't want more of her in his life. Caught off guard & delightfully flustered, Nikki said YES.

Grits & Hash are an abbreviated version of Nikki & Ryan's pet names for each other. Ryan is Radish Hash because one of the first meals he cooked for Nikki was his famous low-carb breakfast dish with radishes subbed for potatoes. Nikki is Salty Grits because it is one of her favorite breakfast sides and once while dining at White Wolf Cafe in Orlando, Ryan noticed Nikki pouring additional salt onto her already salted & cheesed grits, a moment seared into his memory for eternity.