It was the spring of 2014 and Katelyn went to a PIKE party with her Gamma Phi sister, Danielle. Katelyn and Danielle were "PIKE Girls,” so they knew the majority of the men at this event, with the exception of one. Katelyn immediately noticed this guy from across the room and asked Danielle if she knew who he was. She didn’t, but Katelyn decided she wanted to get to know him. The mystery man and his “Big Bro” asked Katelyn and a few others to play some games, and Katelyn learned this guy's name was Austin. The night progressed and Katelyn started to vibe with this guy, but it all seemed too good to be true. She asked a fellow PIKE if Austin was single, and found out he had a girlfriend. Just like that, Katelyn's dreams were crushed. She pulled back her flirting efforts and kept close to Danielle for the rest of the night. A couple of months passed and it was the night of Gamma Phi’s Spring Formal. Again, Katelyn and Danielle are at the event together, annoyed by all the overly drunk Greeks. Then, they were sitting at a table when a guy approached them. The guy was clearly drunk but seemed to be maintaining himself.. Oh, it’s Austin! Katelyn was very excited to see him but reluctant to show it since the last time she saw him, he was in a relationship. While Katelyn was playing it cool, she decided to compliment his Fossil watch, a leather-strapped Fossil Townsman. She recognized the watch from her job working at Fossil, and he was seemingly impressed because all he could say was, "I f*cking love you.” Yep, that’s the start of our love story.

As Katelyn and Austin hit their fifth anniversary as a couple, you could imagine Katelyn is starting to get antsy about when Austin would be finally popping the question. So, in January of 2020, Austin made her a promise, “by March 31st, 2020, I will propose to you to be my wife.” If you know Katelyn, you know she’s very attentive. She’s really no fun to surprise because by the time the “surprise” is revealed, she already has a complete idea of what it is (although, to her credit, she’s always grateful nonetheless). Now, add in the fact that Austin is horrible at keeping a secret, and there’s really no hope that this proposal is going to be a surprise. However, Austin, with the help of her friends, came up with the perfect idea. Something special to her but familiar enough that she’d never expect it…An escape room! Katelyn loves puzzles and escape rooms, and, together with their friends, our lovely couple has completed almost every escape room in Orange County and Los Angeles. So, Austin did some research on rooms and eventually called EscapeX. This employee, Curt, described the exit to one of their rooms as a dark candle-lit staircase and how Austin could sneak out during the final activity of completing the room. The family and friends would line the staircase, each holding candles, so as Katelyn opens the last door, she would be greeted by her loved ones and walk down to Austin, waiting at the bottom, down on one knee. The plan was executed to perfection....almost. Austin found out that Katelyn, being the detective that she is, knew that Jackie and Chanel, both from out of town, were in the area and figured the proposal would be happening that day. All things considered, Austin surprised himself that day with a job well done, everyone cried happy tears, and Katelyn had to admit that he, for once, actually surprised her.