together at last

Matt & Caroline met in the fall of 2018 in Ohio State's Boxing Club. The first moment they laid eyes on each other, they knew they were interested, but it would take over a year for either one to make a move. In the fall of 2019, they both attended a Halloween party and Caroline instructed Matt to be her partner in beer pong. Matt attempted to maintain contact after this, but was eventually forced to accept the time was not right. Later that school year, in early 2020, Caroline ran into Matt coming out of the gym, and decided it was time to cast another line - she asked him to be her test subject for an athletic performance test for school. Ever the gentleman, he of course obliged her request. Communication between the two resumed, and on Valentine’s Day, Matt came to fulfill his promise, but again, communication faltered. A week later, Caroline decided enough was enough - she told Matt he should come to the showing of the Fury v. Wilder Fight, and when he asked why, she replied "Because I'm going to be there". At this point, Matt knew it was now or never. They spent the entire night together, making bets on the fights, laughing and getting to know each other. Matt brought Caroline back to his place to share cheesecake, and then drove her home without so much as an attempted kiss (not for lack of signals from Caroline). He did however, send her a text when he got home, "I had a lot of fun with you tonight, I'd like to see you again". Caroline fell asleep with the biggest smile on her face. A week later, Matt took Caroline on their first date to Bob Evan's Diner, and they spent several hours laughing and talking. Time didn't seem to matter when they were together. Fast forward another week, and they are inseparable. Friends cautioned them about jumping in too fast, but something told them they had finally found their forever. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, Caroline and Matt were all too happy to play house and spend countless hours getting to know each other, planning stay-at-home dates, and educating each other on their favorite movies. They were quick to fall in love, because somehow, they just knew it was right. Over the next YEAR, they never got tired of each other. They met each other’s families, with raving reviews on both sides...everything seemed to be falling into place. Then, Caroline got into her dream PT program, all the way back in Madison, Wisconsin. Matt however, being the amazing human that he is, told her she needed to chase her dreams, no matter where they led her. He told her no matter what, they would make it work because their love was worth waiting for. So, for the next two years, they lived 500 miles apart from each other, spending tiny, precious moments together whenever they could. They promised each other to never let it go more than 6 weeks without a visit, to never go to sleep angry, and to always put each other first. They knew it would be hard, the end goal was simple - they knew this was forever. Suddenly it was Caroline's last semester, and the end was finally in sight. Matt came to her Madison apartment one last time to pack her up and move into their new apartment in Ohio. Settling into life together was like second nature, and they soon adopted a new puppy (Zini) to raise together. After Caroline's first clinical rotation, they took a trip up to Brant Lake, NY to spend an unseasonably warm Labor Day weekend together at the lake. Matt had a surprise up his sleeve for this trip though - he had a very special gift hidden away in his bags. On September 5th, 2023, Matt hid the ring wrapped up in a towel, and told Caroline they were going to take Zini down to the beach to practice swimming. After repeated requests to take a break and sit by the water, Caroline finally agreed. He brought her over to the water’s edge and got down on one knee to ask her to marry him. Everything in the world fell into place in that moment, and her answer was a simple "yes"...and so began forever.