In Bloomington-Normal, Illinois, Jeff visited friends at Illinois State and ended up staying in the same apartment where Rachel lived. Their first meeting was… memorable—Jeff walked in and immediately asked, “Who is that?”* followed by, “Do you have a boyfriend?” Rachel didn’t think much of it (he had been drinking), but the weekend included plenty of chaos: loud shower singing, late-night parties, tequila shots, and dancing on tables. Jeff returned home, and Rachel finished her Junior year of college.

A year later, Rachel and Jeff reconnected while out celebrating Nicole’s birthday. They talked, but with Rachel finishing school and student teaching, the timing just wasn’t right.

At a White Sox bar crawl, Jeff made his intentions clear—asking Rachel (multiple times) if he could take her on a date. She made him wait until the end of the month, but from that night on, they talked every single day and have been together ever since.

In the last 8 years together, their love story has blossomed. They’ve become travel companions exploring new cities together, turned into food critics, and homeowners in Chicago. On the picturesque, snowy night of December 30th 2025, Jeff popped the question at the Chicago Botanical Gardens Lightscape show, and their next chapter as husband and wife was set to begin!