Ethan and Wynne were first introduced by your classic case of "Ethan was assigned to drive Wynne's best friend Sarah Craig 16 hours from Virginia to Maine where they had nothing else to do but talk about who else was going on the trip"... enter Wynne Barsanti. This particular ski trip consisted of 100 "adults" renting four houses where they could pretend they were "college athletes" on UVA's ski team. Somewhere amidst the indoor fireworks, questionable scavenger hunts, and other unnamed activities (the houses were, after all, rented in Blaise's name, and we're not sure precisely how statutes of limitations work), Ethan and Wynne found themselves dancing to High Hopes on a (previously) broken piano. They learned a lot about each other that week - Ethan is easily table-topped when ambushed by Wynne & Sarah, and Ethan can only beat Wynne down a mountain if chugging a beer is a critical component of the race.

Back at UVA for the Spring 2019 semester, Ethan did his best to make it clear to Wynne that he was interested. She remained, of course, entirely oblivious and awkward, not understanding why this boy would show up to her birthday dinner at Asados and meet up constantly to ski or study. Ethan eventually gave up on the subtleties and asked her to brunch at the Whiskey Jar. Wynne rounded out this date with an iconic double fist bump over the bill when Ethan gallantly offered to pay. The next few months were filled with happy memories of VASST formal, dog walks with Apollo (Ethan's dog) in the UVA gardens, nights out at Crozet Buddhist Biker Bar, and celebrating Ethan's graduation. But let's be honest... nothing could possibly eclipse UVA's March Madness run to win the national championship.

Not that there's much to reminisce on in 2020... but the pandemic did provide a welcome pause to their long-distance relationship... rather forcibly, as they were quarantined together for many weeks at a time. But they really couldn't complain - they were quarantined at Lake Anna with 4 dogs and a boat for the summer. There were many ups and downs - Wynne missed graduation, but got her first job and moved up to Madison, WI. Ethan's rotational program had promised jobs in cities around the country, but it instead stayed true to its name and rotated him around the city of brotherly love. Oh! And Wynne got a dog (or two, but that's too sad a story to tell on this website) and named him Leo.

Ethan and Apollo were done with Philly - why not try the Midwest? It just so happened that Wynne and Leo lived there too. In Madison, Wynne and Ethan met some amazing new friends. Summer days were filled with Saturday Farmers market trips, dog walks along the lakes, and spending as much time on boats as possible. They coached ski lessons in the winter and walked on frozen lakes, but never did try ice fishing... and that's okay.

Ethan surprised Wynne with tickets to Italy for her birthday. At the same time, he bought a ring, and never let it out of his sight. This was fortunate, because their flight was cancelled, stranding them in Amsterdam, and then Air Portugal lost their bags. After a few shopping trips and bribed airport officials, they arrived in Italy with bags (and ring) in tow. It's a good thing Ethan's parents, Kevin and Cathy, thought it would be funny to give Ethan a car with manual transmission and roll-down windows as a teen, because that came in handy when renting a car to drive down the Amalfi Coast. After a beautiful day exploring Capri, Wynne and Ethan took off on a sunset drive south from Sorrento along the coast. Wynne found it odd that Ethan was being so particular about the visual aesthetics of the various overlooks along the drive. Ethan, however, was more focused on finding a pull-off with enough space to get on a knee without getting hit by a Ferrari or, more likely, a Fiat. She said yes amidst honking Fiats (and maybe a Ferrari).