When they met in New York, they both had plans to leave the city. He was headed to the West Coast, eager to sublet an apartment in Los Angeles. She was headed to London, having applied on a whim to a journalism master's program. One night, she invited him to join her on a trip to England (originally meant to scout neighborhoods to live in). He had the idea to add Paris to their itinerary. By the time they landed in Europe, they had already fallen in love, and when they locked their love on Paris' Pont de Arts bridge one afternoon, the rest, as they say, was history. They both went back to NYC, moved in together, and never looked back.

On a trip to Colombia, they fell in love with an orange kitten who lived in the courtyard of a Cartagena hostel in Getsemani, an art-splashed neighborhood. "Hostel Cat," as they came to call him, inspired them to adopt a tabby cat of their very own. Back in New York, they searched the city until they found Peeps — a sassy tabby kitten who became the newest member of their family.

Hanoi's streets play out like a scene from Fantasia: a bustling world of color and chaos, flavor and sounds. They took a seat at one of the many sidewalk cafes, knees bent up around their ears as they perched on the too-small plastic stools. It was just the two of them on what was arguably one of the biggest trips they had taken together at that point. For over a week, they had been traveling from Hong Kong to Chiang Mai, Bangkok to Hanoi, and would soon head to Tokyo. But at this one moment, they clinked beers, took in the warm Vietnam night, and enjoyed being somewhere far-flung together, relishing in a relationship they both had been searching for and had finally found.

On the island of Caye Caulker, just off the coast of Belize City, they stumbled across a local-run animal shelter where four puppies had been rescued off the streets. They had taken to spending lazy afternoons volunteering at the shelter, walking the dogs along the beach at sunset. One day, a brown pup with pizza-slice-sized ears caught his eye. They made the decision to adopt Chico, adding this sweet and floppy brown puppy to their New York family (much to the chagrin of Peeps cat).

It was just the two of them that night in Iceland as they balanced his camera atop the roof of their rental car, trying to capture the dancing northern lights above them. They couldn't yet see the northern lights with their naked eyes, but the slowed-down aperture of the camera could pick up on their neon colors. As he sat fumbling with the camera, trying to get the perfect shot, she nudged his shoulder with an eager "look up!" There, above them, the lights had finally become visible, lighting up the night with electric greens and blues. Like love, the magic had always been there, you just sometimes have to wait to see it.

Sundowners are a safari's answer to happy hour in the African wilderness. As the sun sets, your jeep pulls over, and local beers are placed on the hood of the car, along with light snacks. As you sip your drink, you watch the silhouettes of wildebeest and zebra on the horizon, moving across the plains, hoping they'll survive nightfall when the lions awake. As they stood side-by-side, hand-in-hand, somewhere in the wilds of Kenya's Masai Mara Reserve, they felt gratitude for this moment and for the years they had spent together growing as a couple and as a family.

They moved in together nearly eight years ago after that defining trip to Paris in which they had locked their love on a bridge stretching over the Seine River. In the summer of 2022, they moved to Long Island City, a mere 15 minutes from where they had once lived in Astoria, but another world entirely. Their new apartment, which sits opposite Gantry State Park, boasting stellar views of the Manhattan skyline, feels like a sparkling new home.

They arrived at Iguazú National Park on the border of Argentina and Brazil in August 2022. She had been there many years ago under an entirely different context, running away from a wedding and future that looked nothing like her. Over the years, Iguazú and its famed waterfalls had taken on near-mythical status in her mind as being a transformative place that set her life on course. While standing in front of the Salto Dos Hermanas (the two waterfall sisters), he got down on one knee, pulled out a stunning diamond ring, and asked her to marry him. In nearly the exact spot she had once called off a wedding, she enthusiastically said, "YES!"