They both moved down to Florida for school- Malia from Michigan, and Reed from Iowa. They had some mutual friends, so they saw each other occasionally over the years. It wasn't until Malia's last semester of school that they started seeing more of each other and having longer, deeper conversations. They went on their first date on March 4th, and started dating less than two weeks later. It didn't take long for them to realize that they wanted to build a life together, and Reed proposed on January 30th!

Reed and Malia were heading up to Juno to meet friends at the beach and get dinner afterwards. As they walked down the beach, they came up on a blanket with flowers set up. It had been cloudy and raining all day, but the sun came out for a perfect sunset and full rainbow when Reed got down on one knee! Following the proposal, they drove to a nearby park where there were friends and family waiting to celebrate with them. The rest of the night was full of storytelling, fellowship, and line dancing of course!