By God’s divine plan, Nicole and Greg met each other during a high school summer research program at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. They didn't speak much during the program, but afterwards connected and became friends. Throughout the remainder of high school and college, their friendship grew stronger. When Nicole studied abroad in Spain during college, she longed for some American company and a familiar face and turned to Greg for a reminder of home. The turning point in their relationship was when Greg decided to attend Nicole's college graduation in May 2017. That weekend, Greg had the opportunity to meet Nicole’s family and take her out on their first official date to Morton’s Steakhouse. In July of 2017, Nicole and Greg officially started dating. After graduating, Nicole returned home to Little Rock, Arkansas and Greg was already working full time in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. They decided to take a chance on a long distance relationship, and made it a point to visit each other once or twice per month. Those visits and quality time turned out to be worthwhile because Greg eventually proposed on Nicole’s birthday on January 14th, 2021.