Samantha and Andy met when they began working together for the University of Delaware’s Residence Life and Housing department. The first time Samantha ever saw Andy, her first thought was, “He’s cute, but I can’t have a crush on someone I work with—let alone the Associate Director.” So for months, Samantha and Andy stayed friendly co-workers. Andy, of course, thought Samantha was cute but had always been trained to keep coworkers at arm’s length. Samantha began attending Andy’s Tuesday trivia nights and would eat lunch with him and a group of their co-workers daily. Over the course of ten months, Samantha and Andy developed a close relationship while remaining completely platonic. However, deep down, every time Andy made her laugh, Samantha would feel butterflies. Obviously, Andy had no idea. After ten months of denying her feelings, Samantha admitted to her friends that she wanted to be more than just a work friend to Andy. That is when she and her friends came up with “Operation: Get Andy to Want Samantha.” For a month and a half, Samantha began spending more time with Andy. Andy simply thought Samantha was being friendly, with no idea of the plan. The first time they hung out outside of work, they got ice cream and ended up chatting for over two hours. Even though they didn’t know it at the time, that is the day Samantha and Andy like to consider their “first date.” They both knew there was something between them but kept it to themselves. Andy had begun to secretly hope that Samantha had feelings for him because he had developed feelings for her. However, he knew he would never act on them and risk violating the working relationship they had. A few weeks later, everything changed while they were watching a movie one day. Samantha noticed Andy smile at her in a way he never had before. She knew that was the moment she needed to tell him. Samantha did the scariest thing she’d ever done: she turned to Andy and admitted her romantic feelings for him. She insisted that if he did not return the same feelings, to please not report her to Human Resources. Andy laughed and admitted that he felt the same romantic feelings she did.

Since that day, Samantha and Andy’s lives have changed forever. They have fallen in love! Even though Samantha is allergic to cats, she has fallen in love with Andy’s cat, Apollo, as well. Apollo has even started biting her less frequently, indicating he returns her feelings. Samantha started to show Andy all the wonders Delaware has to offer, such as her family’s beloved beach house in Bethany Beach. Samantha’s parents, Ken and Colleen, welcomed and accepted Andy very quickly into the family. They realized that traveling and exploring new places is a passion they share. Meanwhile, Andy finally got Samantha to enjoy country music, despite her friends trying for years. With the help of Samantha’s friends, Andy even dragged her to a three-day country music festival. One of the most precious memories Samantha and Andy will ever have is spending their first New Year’s together with Andy’s mother, Joni, and Aunt Cindy. Joni told Samantha many stories about Andy’s father, Bill, who had passed away a year earlier. Unfortunately, this would be the only time Samantha would meet Joni before she passed away from cancer a little more than a month later. Yet it means the world to Andy that Joni really liked Samantha—and knowing that Bill would have loved her too. After a little over a year of dating, Andy and Samantha were on an Alaskan cruise. Andy scheduled a photographer to take photos of them around the boat in Glacier Bay National Park. While Samantha was taking individual photos, Andy came up behind her and got down on one knee. Samantha turned around and saw Andy proposing to her. She had told Andy repeatedly that whenever he planned to propose, she wanted him to give her a speech. Andy was so excited to give the speech he had been working on. However, in that moment, Samantha was so overwhelmed with emotions that she did not hear anything he said besides, “Will you marry me?” Of course, she said, “Yes!” Now they are ready to begin their forever adventure: marriage!