We met in March of 2016 when a mutual close friend introduced us at a concert. We hit it off immediately and we started dating at the end of the summer! Our love grew over time as Sam started university in 2016, and our strong commitment to one another continued as Ellen moved across the country in 2018 for college in New York City.

In September of 2016, just over a month into our formal relationship, we were sitting by a river in a park in Monroe, Washington when a middle-aged man on an inner tube floated by on the river, gave us a thumbs-up, and yelled at Sam that he should propose. We laughed and later forgot about it. As the years passed, we slowly realized that the question was less if we would decide to spend our lives together, but when. In July of 2020, in the middle of the pandemic, Sam took Ellen back to that river, said he didn't have a speech and then gave a little speech, and asked if she would marry him. She said yes!

After marriage, Sam and Ellen will move into an apartment together in New York City, where Ellen will finish the last year of her undergraduate degree at The King's College. Sam will continue the work he loves as a Donor Analyst for American Philanthropic.