The chemistry was instantaneous, especially for these two gym rats. "Woah, she’s hot and I’m lucky," Nick remembers thinking when he first met Rhea. And Rhea’s first impression? "Oh, he looks really good. I can tell he goes to the gym!" Soon enough, the pair were heading out on sunrise hiking excursions and spotting each other in the weight room, growing closer over quiet moments meal prepping for the week ahead.

From the start, Nick and Rhea knew they wanted something more than casual. Nick realized that Rhea was the one while out at dinner with Rhea’s friends, Freddy and Aimee. Freddy had brought along his baby, who Rhea spent the whole dinner cooing over. Seeing Rhea hold the baby made Nick think about what their own family could look like. He knew then that she was going to be his wife and the mother of his children. Rhea’s own realization came during a trip to Maui. They had flown in late the night before, only getting three hours of sleep, yet Nick still found the energy to wake up at 2 am to drive her up Haleakalā. In the crisp coolness of twilight, as they stared up at the pre-dawn sky still twinkling with starlight, Rhea knew that Nick would always be there for her as he was in that moment.

Nick proposed on their one-year anniversary. He hired a photographer and took Rhea to Papailoa Beach on the North Shore, one of their favorite places. He told her that he wanted a photoshoot to commemorate their year together. Even though Rhea didn’t suspect a thing, Nick was still so nervous that he kept checking on the ring he hid in the car glovebox, anxious that it would magically disappear. The rain that blanketed the island all week miraculously dissipated just before sunset. And as Nick got down on one knee, the sky behind them turned pink and gold.