We met in the summer of 2014 during a summer internship and spent two consecutive summers interning together, building a strong friendship along the way. After the second and final summer ended, Austin returned to New York City, while Rachel began her senior year at the University of Rhode Island. They stayed in close touch, and over the next year and a half their friendship grew into nearly daily FaceTime calls and constant text messages. On December 28, 2016, what began as drinks between friends turned into their first unofficial date at The Eddy in downtown Providence, RI. Once they officially started dating, frequent weekend trips between DC (where Rachel moved after graduating) and NYC followed. They have since vowed never to get on another Peter Pan bus again. Ready for a change, Rachel decided to apply to graduate school, and when she was accepted to NYU, it felt like the stars aligned. After just eight months of long-distance dating, Rachel moved in with Austin into his lofted studio apartment on Amsterdam Avenue on the Upper West Side—and they’ve been together ever since.