Unsurprising in this day and age, we met via Bumble in July 2019. Ty had just moved to Raleigh for his full-time job out of college. I, Sandrina, had also just moved to Raleigh for an internship. I "swiped right" after reading Ty's bio where he stated he was "looking for friends only". Although I was a little skeptical on that statement- I was willing to see if a friendship was possible with this handsome man. We texted for a few days and decided to meet at Boxcar Bar & Arcade. According to Ty- he took one look at me as I walked toward him and all his intentions of "just friends" went out the window. We had a very fun night and somehow ended up at a club called Zenith taking jello shots. We hung out a few times that summer and although we really enjoyed each other's company- we both had a lot going on. I moved back to Arkansas in December to finish my last year of school and we went our separate ways. Fast forward to May 2020, Ty reached back out to me via Facebook after getting a new phone. He was very intentional about getting to know more about me and the feeling was mutual. We talked to each other every day since. Ty flew out to Arkansas in July 2020 and our deep bond was very evident during that trip. After he left, Ty sent me a dozen roses and a peace lily plant (I still have the plant to this day). He asked me to be his girlfriend on July 15th 2020. We continued to do long distance, until Ty temporarily moved to Arkansas in September whilst I completed my last semester and he worked remote due to the pandemic. In December 2020, I accepted a job in North Carolina, graduated, and we moved into our first apartment together.

After three beautiful years filled with love and growth, Ty proposed to me on September 3rd 2023. We made a spontaneous weekend trip to Asheville (one of our favorite places so this wasn't uncommon). Needless to say- I had zero clue what was ahead. We rented a cute cabin in Black Mountain and had an AMAZING weekend. First we ate at our favorite brunch spot, Sunny Point Café. Then we explored downtown Asheville, had dessert, viewed art and even went to a beautiful waterfall. We ended the night with a lovely dinner at Ukiah Japanese Smokehouse (10/10). The next day we had an early lunch at the Omni Resort, overlooking the Blue Ridge Mountains. Ty got us tickets into the Biltmore Estate, where he took me for my birthday the year prior. I was excited to go back and he even booked us an exclusive rooftop tour. After the tours, we walked through the lovely gardens which we hadn't seen before. Ty suggested we take a seat on a bench next to a beautiful weeping atlas cedar tree, to cool down and have some time away from the crowds. When we were ready to leave, Ty asked me "Do you love me?" and I said "Of course I do- let's go under the tree to seal our relationship with a kiss". We walked under the privacy of the tree and gave each other three kisses "1..2..3, sealed". I turned away from Ty to head back to the car then he called out my name. When I spun around he was down on one knee... I was in shock and thought he was joking. I moved closer to him and on the verge of tears when I saw my dream ring... he asked me to marry him and I said yes.