Ryan and Jolie met at UC Irvine, where they both attended college for their undergrad. Jolie always knew of 'Cohen' from mutual friends. She thought he was funny, kind and outgoing. Ryan knew Jolie as the upperclassmen that he admired from afar. For years they attended the same Greek parties and events, never realizing how their paths would cross one day. In Jolie's final year of college, Ryan became her softball coach for her sorority's team where they finally had a chance to get to know one another more personally. Playing catch turned into daily gym dates which turned into spending most days together, quickly evolving their friendship into a romantic relationship. Ryan recalled pondering the idea of marrying Jolie one day while they sat at the ARC bar before a workout. They shared their first kiss at a weekend away in Palm Springs at Ryan's fraternity formal, the start of their first summer in love. They would go on to celebrate their anniversary each year on October 29th.

Fast forward through the years, the conversation of marriage was a familiar topic between Ryan and Jolie. Jolie would often tease Ryan about when and where he would propose to her. They could be making their weekly grocery runs or be heading to a workout and Jolie would playfully ask if Ryan was driving her to their proposal, to which he would laugh and say "one day, my Love." Four years into their dating, Ryan began making preparations for his proposal. Ryan was extremely proud of himself for carefully choosing and creating Jolie's engagement ring, ultimately creating the ring of her dreams. With the ring in creation and with the help of his family and friends, Ryan started planning a proposal that would span across several weeks. It began when their closest friend, Jordyn, placed Ryan, Jolie and numerous friends of Jordyn's in a faux-group chat, inviting them all to a beach day in Dana Point. Jolie thought Jordyn had some very exciting news to share and Ryan encouraged these ideas. Thankfully, all of Jordyn's friends were fully in on the surprise and (fake) group chat, sending updates throughout the weeks and sending calculated responses to keep Jolie unaware, so Ryan could focus on crafting his proposal to Jolie. The morning of the proposal was seemingly very normal. Ryan and Jolie made breakfast together and they both got ready for their day. As part of the plan, Nick and Madi stopped by to carpool with Ryan and Jolie to Dana Point. Ryan recalled being so nervous at this point and later divulged that him and Nick repeated their conversation over and over again for the 30 minute car ride, Jolie blissfully unaware in the backseat as she chatted with Madi. When they parked and got out of the car, Nick and Madi were shocked when Jolie casually said "are you sure you're not proposing to me babe?" Little did Jolie know, her teasing was moments away from coming to an end. The four of them began walking down to the beach, Jolie was familiar with the beach, having gone on a date with Ryan there almost exactly a year prior. As they walked further down, Jolie looked off into the distance and faintly saw a set-up of sorts. She squinted her eyes looking at the marquee letters and said slowly "Mar-ry-meee.....Aww, Ryan is that for me?" When her question was met with silence, she turned to look at Ryan's tear-filled eyes and was shocked to realize that her final tease was in fact the moment she had prayed for. They continued to walk down to a beautiful set-up of flowers and candles where Ryan got down on his knee and asked Jolie to marry him. When Ryan stood up, he embraced Jolie. Then, Ryan began pointing out their family and friends in the distance, watching and celebrating them from afar. It was sentimental and romantic. Jolie was completely surprised. Ryan was elated. Later that evening, Ryan surprised Jolie, once again, with an intimate surprise engagement party with their parents and closest friends. A beautiful conclusion to a day and evening they would never forget.