Pete emailed Nicole through an online dating website in October 2019. Disheartened and exhausted by the entire dating process, Nicole ignored Pete's attempt. Pete reached out again in November 2019. Forgetting about the first email, and the fact that she disliked car selfies, she was amused by the tiny hand waving out of nowhere behind Pete in a photo of himself in the drivers' seat. After a brief email exchange, they decided to meet on December 06, 2019, coincidentally (or maybe serendipitously), a date dear to Nicole's heart, being the anniversary of not only her grandparents, but her great-grandparents, as well. Maybe it was Pete's charming way, maybe it was the wine, or maybe it was the fact that his sister and brother-in-law crashed the date... somehow, when in October Nicole wasn't ready, in November/December her heart opened up enough to take a chance on a good-humored, family-strong, handsome man.

Nicole knew that Pete had secretly asked for her father's blessing in October, 2020; she knew then that a proposal would be coming. The fall season, the anniversary of their meeting, and the milestones of the holidays all came and went with no proposal—she started to wonder if Pete had changed his mind! They planned a ski getaway to the Poconos for Valentine's weekend. After an impromptu stop for a wine tasting at a winery in Pennsylvania (outdoors in the cold, of course—dating during a pandemic is challenging), they arrived at the charming town of Stroudsburg and enjoyed the local attractions. Nicole knew that her worries were for nothing—she felt closer than ever to Pete and mentioned that they needed to take more pictures of themselves; they hadn't been taking many lately. The next day they bundled up for a day of skiing/boarding (he skis, she snowboards). The first ride down was fun, and on the way back up the ski lift, Pete mentioned that he spotted an overlook that would be perfect for taking pictures. So they started to look for the spot, all strapped in. And kept looking. Nicole was not having an easy time dragging her board uphill searching for the overlook and suggested that they just sit down—anywhere—in the snow and enjoy the view. Pete wouldn't have it and insisted that they had to find the overlook, which prompted Nicole to start to think this might be it—maybe the proposal was coming! Finally, they found the overlook and it turned out to be a great view of the valley; however, they were joined by a bunch of young adults taking selfies at the viewpoint. Pete sat down and took out a brochure from his jacket and started reading, of all things! At that point, Nicole sat down, and figured this was not going to be the moment that she had thought. The kids eventually left, and at long last, Pete took out the ring box, got down on one knee, and asked Nicole to marry him. It was exactly the right moment during a romantic weekend at a breathtaking place!