Christian and Judith met in 2021 through a small group of international friends playing Dungeons & Dragons online. They initially did not interact at all outside of the game, but within months, the two entered a long-distance relationship. Around the same time, Christian moved to Germany to hone his language skills, and the two met in England in person. By 2022, Christian had moved once again, this time to live with Judith in Cambridge, where the two attended university.

In 2022, Judith wanted to see the Christmas Markets of central Europe, so that Christmas, the couple embarked on a trip to Vienna to do just that. Unbeknownst to Judith, Christian had an ulterior motive for the trip, and on the night of a pre-planned horse and carriage ride through the city asked Judith to marry him. She was completely blindsighted.