In 1993, 18 year-old Cisco moved to CA, from Louisiana. His mom, Leatha, introduced him to Baha'i Youth in the Bay Area. Nurieh was one of them and had grown up with Leatha. Cisco and Nurieh did a lot of Baha'i activities together, including the Baha'i Youth Workshop, started by Leisa Sinclair-Vick (our MC/officiant). They raced on highways, spun donuts in Cisco's badass black truck, and just had fun. Nurieh went to London in 2000, for a study abroad program in Theatre, and Cisco called frequently (her flatmates teased her a lot and would sing the "thong song" every time). When she got back, they started dating and soon after got engaged. They didn't receive consent from a parent, who shall remain nameless (Hint: it was the person who gave birth to Nurieh) and she moved to Wyoming on her Baha'i year of service with her best friend Lydia. The relationship ended there. They each got married in 2002, and started careers. Cisco is a chiller mechanic and Nurieh is a therapist. They each had BEAUTIFUL children (Cisco-Donovan, Kavai, & Nevaeh/Nurieh-Anusheh & Atticus). Eventually, they got back to being friends and every once in a while caught up with each other. Fast forward to 2019. Cisco and Nurieh are now both divorced and they are different people than they were in 1993 or 2000. After regular phone calls, it became clear there was something else to their friendship. Plus, who wants to do online dating?? It's more than convenience though, as they have many foundational things in common, like friends, family, work ethic, the Baha'i Faith, and an incredible love for their children. They are better, stronger people now and it only took 20+ years for them to get on the same path. Hopefully it doesn't take them that long to live in the same house! For now, because their children are happy and secure where they are, Cisco and Nurieh will have a long-distance modern marriage. Obviously for them, living in different states has never been a problem.