WE'RE GETTING MARRIED

"Right Swipe, Right Time" Once upon a time, in the early days of 2020—just before the world turned upside down—two college students found each other with nothing more than a swipe. He was a fraternity guy from Cleveland. The kind who always had a ridiculous story to tell, was funny as hell, and had an unshakable loyalty to his brothers. She was a sorority girl from Youngstown—driven, sarcastic, smart as hell, and fresh off a leadership trip to Quantico, Virginia, where she probably could’ve passed an FBI background check in her sleep. Their Tinder conversation started the usual way: “Hey, I'm Pretty, You're Cool. Together I think we'd be pretty cool.” And just like that, they clicked. For weeks they messaged back and forth. They bonded over their favorite shows (The Office, obviously), exchanged memes that only made sense between the two of them, and even FaceTimed when they were too busy for a real hangout. But still—no one said anything about feelings. Not yet. Then, a month later, after she came back from Quantico—and right as news about some virus started creeping into headlines—he finally said it. "I think I like you. Like, really like you." It wasn’t dramatic. It wasn’t rehearsed. It was honest. And she smiled in that way that made him feel like everything was exactly how it was supposed to be. They started dating. Then immediately went long-distance. She went back to Youngstown. He stayed in Cleveland. The world shut down. Everyone was suddenly stuck behind screens, apart from the people they loved—but somehow, their connection got stronger. They had virtual movie nights, where they’d sync up the same Netflix show and count “3, 2, 1, play.” They left good morning texts before Zoom classes and stayed up late talking about what they’d do when the world opened back up. They had fights, of course. Miscommunications. Lonely nights. But through it all, they never stopped choosing each other. Because something about the way they fit—her wit, his charm, their shared stubbornness and quiet loyalty—just made sense. Their love wasn’t flashy. It wasn’t perfect. But it was real. The kind that grows with time and trust. The kind that survives quarantine and distance and uncertainty. Now, looking back, it seems almost absurd that everything started with a swipe. But maybe that’s the magic of it. Right place, right time. Right person. And the rest, as they say, is history