Tucker met Bertina in ROTC at Ohio State, where she was a year behind him. Tucker recalls the first time he saw her in August of 2017, but they did not actually meet until later that year. They first became friends over their mutual appreciation for food. Tucker would ask what food they had at Bert's dormitory dining hall and they'd talk at the ROTC building but that was more or less the extent. By 2018, they started reviewing restaurants and sharing their love for Buckeye Donuts on social media. In retrospect, their increasingly frequent trips to restaurants could be considered their first dates, they just didn't know it yet. They started hanging out in similar friend groups and were slowly spending more time together. Friends asked if they were dating and they had to assure people it was strictly platonic. By fall of 2019, Tucker's senior year, they were quite good friends. Bertina invited him to a friend's backyard for Viking Spaghetti - pasta cooked in a cauldron over the bonfire, doused in pasta sauce, and eaten off folding tables with bare hands. During Fall Break, they went on a hiking trip with some friends in Shenandoah National Park where Tucker first kissed Bertina. This took them by surprise as they were both supposed to just be friends. Nevertheless, it kickstarted their relationship and by December, Tucker had invited Bert to church with him and had taken her home to Cincinnati for dinner with the family before they then parted ways for three weeks during Christmas break. With the heart certainly growing fonder with distance, they "became official" in January of 2020. For Spring Break, Bertina went on a trip through our church on campus which was the final stepping stone for her to decide to accept Jesus and become a Christian (she just didn't tell Tucker for a bit). Witnessing this journey for Bertina which began at the first church service she had been to a few months prior, is one of the greatest blessings in Tucker's life. After Spring Break they had plans to spend a day in Cincinnati before heading back up to Columbus to resume school. Thanks to COVID, school never resumed, and one day together turned into spending 3 months of quarantine together in Cincinnati with Tucker's mom. Certainly an unusual start to a relationship. Their time together in COVID ended up being a blessing; as Tucker began working for the Navy and Bertina finished up her college career before also joining the Navy, they've spent most of the last 4 years long-distance. Not to worry though, after Bertina's deployment from May to December, Tucker proposed to her on a trip to Asheville, North Carolina on December 19th, 2023. They closed on their house in Norfolk, Virginia on March 27 just before Bertina moved to the Jacksonville, Florida area for a few months. The two are certainly looking forward to some extended time in the same location and are excited to celebrate our big day with you!