It is a widely known fact that Los Angeles is the worst place to be single because Hollywood attracts broken souls from all four corners of the Earth. This is not to say that *all* people here in Tinseltown are crazy. But most are. According to the 2020 census, the population of metropolitan LA is around 12 million. And 11.5 million Angelinos openly identify as sociopaths. That’s what makes Sarah and Mike’s story so unlikely. What are the odds that two therapized primates with their heads screwed on straight could find each other in an ocean of TikTokers? Pretty low. So low, in fact, that on February 6, 2022, as Sarah and Mike set out from their respective apartments for their first date at a wine bar called Tabula Rasa, they were each on the verge of giving up online dating. Mike had just filed a police report about an ex-turned-stalker he’d briefly dated (who he met on a dating site, surprise surprise). And Sarah was so disillusioned with the game that she was running a successful Instagram account devoted to the ridiculous profiles she came across on Hinge. Needless to say, these thirty-somethings had very low expectations for their first date. But… something sparked between them that night. They talked orange wine (er… Sarah taught Mike about orange wine) and gratitude lists and siblings. Sarah walked Mike to his car and asked if he’d had an “okay time.” Mike played it cool and said he did (it was more than an okay time). He then sent Sarah a winding, neurotic text that started by apologizing for misremembering their Hinge conversation and ended with him asking her out on another date. And so it was that one date begot several. Within two weeks, Sarah bravely told Mike she felt like she’d known him a long time. Mike felt the same — there was something oddly familiar about Sarah. He was sure they’d crossed paths before (they hadn’t). In short, the new couple was vibing from the start, so they kicked their fledgling romance into high gear and set off on a weeks-long tour of the US to attend a family member’s milestone birthday, a friend’s wedding, and to meet each other’s clans. Travel is a famous litmus test for a couple’s compatibility, and though the universe threw a million challenges at them, Sarah and Mike returned from the eastern seaboard practically joined at the hip and even deeper in love than before. The rest is history. Two short years, two overpriced apartments, one near-botched surgery, one hyperactive puppy, and countless trips later, Sarah and Mike are ready to tie the knot. Actually, they were pretty much ready from the start. Turns out, “When you know, you know” is very real… Thanks, Hinge!