It all started with a small BBQ restaurant in Maumee, OH. Maddie was a manager there and Jake was a young sixteen year old looking for a job. When he applied, Maddie thought he was too young so she put a giant red X on his application. God had other plans. Jake continued to come in (during busy dinner rushes) and bug Maddie until she gave his application another look. His Boy Scout background redeemed him and he was hired. After two years of working together at the restaurant they both moved over to open the commissary. There they began to spend every waking hour together (sometimes admittedly taking longer to work to spend more time together). A friendship grew and pretty soon they were inseparable. Everyone who knew them, knew they were going to end up together. Some even planned their future wedding! It took two more years of working side by side for 12 hours a day before the best friends became more than that. After Maddie coincidentally continued locking herself out of her apartment and asking Jake for help, breaking her ankle so she couldn't drive and would need rides to work, and letting Jake sleep over at her apartment because he was too tired to drive (three more minutes) down the road to his house during the RibOff, a real relationship began.

After knowing each other for over 5 years, and dating for 2, Jake and Maddie went on a vacation to her favorite place-The Outer Banks. On the first night there, after an amazing dinner and a walk on the beach, standing in front of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse Jake got down on one knee and popped the question with a ring pop! (Side story- When talking about marriage, Maddie always told Jake that she didn't care about the ring, he could propose to her with a ring pop and she would still say yes.) After an initial shock and many happy tears, Maddie said YES! Then began berating Jake about what the actual ring looked like and if she could see a picture of it. He pulled the most gorgeous, unique, perfect ring out of his pocket with a sly smile saying, Oh, you mean this? More happy tears! They then enjoyed the rest of their trip as an engaged couple!

Jake and Maddie now live together in Toledo with their pup, Dexter. Jake has moved up quickly through Gross Electric and is now a Contractor Salesman and also works at Kengo Sushi and Yakatori in downtown Toledo. Maddie works at Home Depot as well as Lickity Split Ice Cream. She is currently in Nursing school. They are very excited to bring their loved ones to such a magical place like The Outer Banks. Soon they will be the #NewlywedNeuberts !