Felipe lived in Brazil the first twenty-five years of his life. As Sydney was graduating college in 2014, countries away, Felipe's dream of moving to America to study was starting to become a reality. After months of working, going to college, and teaching himself English before bed, Felipe finally got his Student Visa to come to America. He began studying in Knoxville, TN in January of 2016, just a few months before Sydney would move back to TN for a job. That October, Felipe and Sydney met online. Felipe was still working on his English and it was difficult to hold a conversation over text messages. So, Sydney suggested something that would save this bud of a relationship, and they began conversing through Google Translate. On their first date, November 27, 2016, Felipe was so nervous about his English that he barely said five words the whole night, but as he started to feel more comfortable with her, Sydney began to understand his broken English. Their first date consisted of sushi, watching The Office (both of their favorite t.v. show), and coffee. Within two months, they were best friends and each other's confidants. Felipe's English got better and Sydney's brazen independence was reigned in a bit for the man she was falling in love with. In May 2017, in her father's favorite coffee shop in Peoria, IL, Felipe brought Sydney coffee, got down on one knee, and proposed. After she said "Yes!" he spoke to her again and said, "We started with coffee and we'll die with coffee."