Katie and Troy met in the late summer of 2015 as freshmen at Marist College, living just a floor apart in Champagnat Hall. They became friends through the Honors Program and a growing circle of mutual friends. In May 2016, Katie mentioned that one of her favorite bands, Man Overboard, was breaking up and that they were going on one final tour around the country. Troy was coincidentally a fan of the band as well, and happily agreed to make the two hour train ride to New York City with her. The two spent that night getting to know each other on a deeper level and bonding over their shared love of music. This was the start of Troy and Katie becoming concert buddies.

Throughout the rest of their time together at Marist, Katie and Troy grew to see each other in a different light. Their relationship began to shift from one of friendship, to more of a "will they, won't they" type storyline. There was a clear sense of comfort and chemistry between the two, but traditional dates were mostly tossed aside in favor of hopping on Metro North and taking that two hour trip into New York City to see one of their favorite bands. After graduating in May 2019, they planned a trip for Troy to visit Katie in California before she officially moved to the East Coast. During that trip, after a whole week of afternoons at the beach, pizza dates at Blue Line, nonstop laughter, a San Francisco Giants game and cheering on the Warriors in the playoffs, Troy finally confessed that he was in love with Katie and asked her to be his girlfriend.

In November of 2024, Troy and Katie took a trip back to California where their relationship officially started. At her favorite beach in Half Moon Bay, with a gorgeous sunset in the background, Troy asked Katie to marry him.