While they're sure that they had crossed paths before, their first real conversation took place backstage at Marshall University's production of "The Odd Couple" in 2021. Gavin was a part of the stage crew, and Kristen was part of the costume crew. They both worked in the scene shop the following semester! Kristen had a crush on Gavin that whole semester, and finally built up the nerve to ask him to watch Stranger Things with her after classes ended.

After almost a year of knowing each other, and building multiple LEGO sets together, Gavin finally asked Kristen on a date. They were set to go to Pho U & Mi, their favorite spot in Huntington. Kristen spent the whole day getting ready, nervous as can be. Gavin showed up in basketball shorts, a tank top, and a Camero. He's grown a lot since then. They spent that lunch talking about cats, theatre, and their favorite TV shows (Kristen was midway through Breaking Bad). After lunch, they watched the season finale of Stranger Things while Gavin's cat, Bo, pestered them. They only cried a little bit.

Gavin had planned for weeks to take Kristen to Morris Arboretum. However, Kristen agreed to drop her sister off at the airport that same morning. After a couple hiccups in the plan, they finally made their way to Batter and Crumbs, where they got their breakfast to go. They headed to the Arboretum, where they spent the next hour admiring the plants around them. They circled back around to Kristen's favorite part of the garden, where Gavin proposed. Obviously, she said yes!