In July 2014, Athan and Steph met at Camp Good Shepherd (CGS) in Branchville, New Jersey, which was the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of New Jersey's summer camp. On a Sunday afternoon, Steph was driving to the campgrounds for the first day of camp. This would be her first time being a camp counselor, something she always wanted to do. She wasn't sure what it was, but she felt that something was waiting for her at the end of her long drive. That day, Athan saw Steph for the first time at orientation. He already knew all the other counselors, as he had attended camp before as a camper, but did not know who she was. There was something different about her. Truth be told, Steph did not notice Athan, as she was managing camper registration and meeting so many new people for the first time. The next day, Steph was sitting on the porch outside of the cafeteria. She heard conversation about "spirit" days of the week and that the next day was going to be called "Twinning Tuesday". Not having known anyone for very long, she quickly realized that she had to find someone to "twin" with, fast! She turned and noticed that Athan was standing on the porch nearby. After mistakenly pronouncing his name wrong (and Athan correcting her) she asked if he had a twin for the next day. He replied that he didn't and the two agreed they would create matching outfits. Twinning Tuesday deemed a success with a picture to look back on now, as well. For the remainder of the two weeks at CGS, Athan and Steph spent time getting to know each other. He learned that she was smart, funny, athletic, and that they had many similarities. But ultimately he learned that she was different, just like he thought, and wanted to remain friends with her even after they said their goodbyes. Steph found that Athan was always listening and that he made her laugh more than anyone had before. This was a feeling she didn't want to let go of. The two agreed to keep in touch and remain friends.

The two of them remained friends in 2014, but in 2015, Athan wanted to make things official. Steph disagreed and felt that although she had feelings for him, two hours was just too far away, and said they were at different points in their lives. Without counseling together in 2015, they met again in 2016 at a mutual friend's birthday and then a pre-camp training, and shared a drink after. Before they said goodbye, Athan asked if they would ever be together. Steph replied, "hopefully, someday". Little did she know that someday was just around the corner. Finding themselves at CGS once again, it became obvious to both Steph and Athan that they had unresolved feelings for one another. Steph found that Athan was very aloof. When she spoke to him about how she was feeling, he indicated that she shouldn't care about how he behaves since they are not an item. Steph felt that Athan was not acknowledging their feelings for one another, which hurt. However, he was right; they weren't an item. As the remainder of camp went on, Steph felt closer to her faith. Admitting to herself that Athan is everything she ever wanted in a partner, she decided to tell him how she felt and said she wanted to make things official between them finally, even though the distance will be hard. So happy that Steph began to see what he saw all along, Athan gave her a big hug and just said, "I'm so glad". The next day, they were setting up for an event that was on the other side of the campgrounds. With the rest of the counselors ordering Chinese food, Athan and Steph asked for some to be saved for them. When they returned, the only thing left was a fortune cookie. Starving and upset, they opened the fortune cookie together. It read, "Begin, the rest is easy." Since no one else knew what had taken place the day before, Athan and Steph looked at each other and knew they were on the right path.

In the summer of 2019, Steph and Athan decided that they would do a New England road trip in October as Steph has always wanted to do a fall foliage trip. Athan decided that he would begin looking for a ring and propose to her when the time was right during their trip. After they had discussed places they wanted to visit on their trip, Athan researched all of the places to see what they looked like. He ultimately decided to propose during the New Hampshire portion of their trip because that is where Castle in the Clouds was located. Castle in the Clouds is a castle-like mansion at the top of a large mountain in New Hampshire that overlooks the mountain range with beautiful foliage. On the drive up the mountain, Athan and Steph stopped at a waterfall. Noticing his odd behavior, Steph started getting nervous, and asked that Athan not rush anything in their relationship just because people say that couples always get engaged on trips. Brushing her comments off, Athan's behavior went back to normal (even though he was planning to propose at the waterfall, clearly it was not the right time). As they drove further up the mountain, they stopped at an overlook point. Athan told Steph that he wanted to take a picture of her with all of the foliage, so he asked her to turn around, as if she was looking out into the distance. Reluctant at first, Steph obliged. Suddenly, she heard rustling behind her, which made her nervous, and she started to shake. Athan said she can turn around. When she did so, Athan was already on one knee, holding a beautiful box open with the most beautiful ring. He said, "I love you Steph, will you marry me?" Barely being able to say "yes", Steph began to cry. They embraced and drove up to the castle, where they took pictures and called their families and friends to announce their good news. Two ladybugs also landed on each of them right after Athan proposed; another sign that they are still on the right path.