As all great love stories begin, Tanner and Lauren met through Tinder in the Fall of 2019. Stars (algorithms) aligned, and shortly after matching, Tanner and Lauren hit it off, messaging back and forth for a week... before not speaking for months. After Thanksgiving break, Tanner reached out to Lauren, telling her he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her (obviously). Despite best efforts of all parties, plans to meet in person before winter break (and Tanner studying abroad in Australia) never materialized. However, that didn’t keep them from talking. Even with 7,798 miles and an 18-hour time difference between them, their conversations grew more frequent, and their connection became stronger. Messaging led to phone calls, and phone calls led to FaceTimes. Pretty soon, they were part of each other's daily routine. Months later, when COVID-19 cut his program short, Tanner flew back to Arizona to collect his belongings, and the two decided it was finally time for that first date. They met for lunch at Snooze, where Lauren was so nervous (charmed) she didn’t even order food. However, once they started talking, all nerves faded away, and the hours passed effortlessly - it was like they had known one another for years. That week, Tanner and Lauren spent every day together, and on the last day before returning to their hometowns, Tanner officially asked Lauren to be his girlfriend. Since that day, they've been building a life together, side by side, one that still carries the same ease, comfort, and sense of belonging they felt the very first time they met.