Rylea: Thomas and I met at the college we both went to in Sydney, Australia. Neither of us can remember when we actually first met, but we knew of each other because of shared classes and church. My curiosity for Thomas grew when we started serving alongside each other on our church’s online services team in 2020. I was hosting chat rooms, and he was… well, at the time I wasn’t really sure. I just knew he helped with tech stuff answering questions from me and others like, “The chat isn’t working, can you fix it?” Early 2021, we were around each other more often and I was slowly developing a lil crush. I felt weird, shy, and soft around him which, many of you could guess, I hated. I was looking forward to all the random interactions I could get with him. Thomas: Our early conversations were captivating. That was the first thing I noticed and liked about Ry. For weeks I would go out of my way to make some “random” encounters happen. However, I couldn’t get a read on her. From her tone and all that she shared, I felt like we were progressing, but… she wouldn’t make eye contact with me. I couldn’t tell if she wanted me to share my life story or get lost. Still, I kept pressing in with caution. Nearing a month of confusion, Rylea asked if we could talk. Hearts racing, we went on a walk which began something like… R: “So… what are we doing?” T: After a little back and forth, our first date was set for April 1st, 2021 at a local cafe in Sydney. Per usual, the conversation was fun, easy, and honest. I even got a little bit of eye contact out of her. So afterward, sensing we were on the same page, I asked her on a second date. Her reply? R: “Let me get back to you.” T: A few days later, my phone rang. R: I don’t remember my exact logic for saying no to another date, but I do remember feeling spooked by the vulnerability and thought of being in a relationship with Thomas. He was confident, endlessly curious, smooth, kind, self-aware, and open. After I hung up the phone saying no to continuing things, I cried. I felt disappointed in myself and confused. Something in me knew that could’ve been good.

T: A few months later, we went on our final walk together as Ry prepared to move back to the US — never to be seen again. The one that got away. R: After we said goodbye in Sydney, all I could think was… damn. I genuinely hoped we’d get to see each other again at some point but was sure we wouldn’t with me living in a very non-touristy Houston, Texas. There were many times, between then (end of 2021) and 2023, that I wondered about him or missed him, but those subtle thoughts never quite grew into realistic hopes. T: After she left, we would catch up over text every few months and even sent a letter or two to each other. In January of 2023 during one of our catchups, we realized that we were both looking to be in New York at the same time and talked about meeting up. Little to my knowledge, this was an initiation to see if there was still anything between us. To prove my ignorance, I ended up ghosting Rylea for a month in the middle of us making a plan. Needless to say, we never went to New York. R: At the end of 2022 and going into 2023, my wondering about Thomas had increased. It seemed to come out of nowhere and I was excited at the potential of getting to see him in NYC. This seemed to be our one random shot at any revamp so when he went ghost-mode, I figured that was it. T: A few months later in May, Rylea posted some poetry she wrote on her Instagram. I still have no clue what came over me, but I decided that instead of responding to check in and see how life was I would just send a huge bouquet to her work. R: This is my favorite part of our very drawn-out love story. A couple of my coworkers received the flowers since I was working from home, and later at our all-staff meeting, it became staff news that someone was crushing on me. I scatteredly overshared that I did not know why Thomas had sent the flowers and confirmed we were indeed not dating, but had in college. T: That rightfully earned me the name “Flower Boy” from her co-workers. Nevertheless, it led to the first FaceTime we shared since she moved from Sydney in 2021. It would only take one more call before we confessed our feelings and decided to give a relationship a go even though we were on opposite sides of the world. Dating long-distance was hard, but there were so many sweet moments. Communication became the bedrock of our relationship. We got to take trips to Portland, Sydney, Atlanta, and Texas together. We got to support each other through major life changes as I moved back to the US and both of us adjusted to our new shared lifestyle. Getting to experience all this with Rylea in such a short period only confirmed what I felt from that first call: she’s the one. Rylea is a rare fit for my heart, and I can’t wait to stand at the altar with her, before all of you who are reading this, as we affirm our love to one another and make this most sacred commitment. R: After our first call, I was definitely into him, and it was serious. We talked deep and laughed hard. I had worries to overcome, understanding that committing to us meant we would be making some huge lifestyle and inner changes for each other, but I knew he was my guy. Our love was incredibly safe and scary at the same time. For the first few months, we weren’t sure who would move to whom and where. Our trips to see each other only confirmed and strengthened what we had known over the phone, so we talked often and openly about what we wanted and how we were discerning our next steps with God. In the end, where I was in Houston shaped up to be the place – Thomas left a lot to be here with me. I am confident he is my life partner and forever lover. Loving Thomas and being loved by him has matured and healed me in so many ways for good and for encouraging me toward who I long to be as a follower of Jesus. I have been undone by the grace of God I have gotten to experience through our partnership. We are so excited to celebrate our love with you soon x