Despite going to the same college and sharing a friend group, Nat and Katie did not meet until their mutual friends Tawnya and Dane got married in October 2023. A $1 bet on the dance floor turned into exchanging numbers and, as a joke, an address was given so the dollar could be mailed. Instead, Nat and his friend Sam showed up at Katie and Syd's hotel room with a beer The night ended in the hotel lobby drinking beer and making frozen pizza (one slightly burnt). The next day, Katie texted Nat…who ended up not responding because he thought she wasn’t actually interested.

After a few glasses of wine (and a lot of encouragement from friends), Katie decided to text Nat again. Not long after, they met up at the Missouri State Fair, where he unexpectedly and very bravely met Katie’s siblings and closest friends. Trial by fire. If Nat was intimidated, he did a great job hiding it. Not long after, they went to dinner, where they talked and talked and completely lost track of time. After the date, Katie texted her friend Makayla: "I had fun! I maybe got friendly vibes... but a great date!"

Christmas has always been kind of a big deal to Katie, so they opted to spend Christmas Eve in Prairie Home helping get everything ready for Christmas morning with the kids. After all the presents and chaos, it was time for Judy's famous Christmas games What Nat didn't know was that there was already a plan in place: if he drew the $100 card, he had to sing. Of course, he pulled the $100. And instead of panicking, Nat happily sang a Christmas carol for everyone. That was the moment Katie knew she was absolutely keeping this guy.

After a few very long harvest months, Nat and Katie finally made it to church together one Sunday morning in Leonard. After lunch, Nat headed out to work ground, check the hog barn, and pick up Grandpa Loren. About 15 minutes later, he called Katie saying his truck battery was dead and he needed a jump. Katie paused the Chiefs game, grabbed the keys and, on a hunch, threw on a little makeup... just in case. When she pulled into the farm at sunset, still fully expecting to deal with a dead battery, Nat asked her to come around the truck where he was down on one knee, and asked her to make him the most lucky man in the whole world.