Rachel and Nathan first met through Rachel's childhood best friend and Nathan's ultimate wing-woman (unknown to him at the time, and to whom he owes a great debt) Diana Zhou. It all began in Spring 2023 before they had even met: Rachel and Nathan were both respectively at romantic low points after fruitless dating encounters in their separate lives (though they wouldn't have admitted it). Diana had noticed this in Rachel's life and was seeking a future husband for Rachel. By living in Pittsburgh, Diana had gotten to know Nathan's extended family quite well and Nathan too, by extension. Rachel, though initially reluctant, contacted Nathan due to Diana's persistent insistence. Rachel and Nathan immediately hit it off and formed a special bond due to their shared experiences in medicine, Rachel as a pediatric nurse in Boston and Nathan as a resident surgeon in Staten Island. Beginning their relationship long-distance, Nathan first asked Rachel to be his girlfriend on a rainy evening at the top of Rockefeller Center in the heart of NYC (though she didn't say yes for several days!). During their late-night phone calls, Nathan fell in love with Rachel's gentle yet goofy soul and Rachel to Nathan's thoughtfulness and supportive stability. Long distance turned into longer distance with Rachel's move to San Francisco to complete a APP Fellowship in pediatric cardiology (at Stanford! - wooow). Through many flights, Rachel and Nathan would manage to still see each other throughout the year and their desire to be and grow together deepened. During a shared vacation Spring 2024, Nathan and Rachel took a road trip around the East coast to visit friends and family which culminated in Pittsburgh. With the help of many friends and family on a (another) rainy day May 24th, 2024, Nathan asked Rachel to be his wife (this time she said yes immediately!). Since then, Rachel has moved to Fort Lee, NJ to be closer to Nathan and has begun working at Columbia as a pediatric cardiology nurse practitioner. Rachel and Nathan are now in the process of wedding planning and are eagerly waiting to celebrate the beginning of their new life together with their friends and family!