Abby had moved to Charlotte shortly before the pandemic in 2020 by herself. Garrett had recently gotten out of the military and had moved back home to Iowa. One of Abby’s best friends from college had a boyfriend that was good friends with Garrett. She texted Abby about potentially texting with him and getting to know him because he seemed like a “catch.” Abby wasn’t interested in chatting with someone long distance, but her friend gave her number to Garrett anyways. They had texted here & there and eventually they agreed to Facetime. Well, this Facetime lasted 8 hours. They bonded over their same taste in music and liking White Claws. When discussing which flavor was the worst, they both said “Tangerine” at the same time. Funny enough, that’s when they both knew. Then they shot gunned a White Claw together on Facetime from miles apart (Abby cheated and dumped out half). After about a month of texting and facetiming, Garrett flew Abby out to Iowa. In that visit and first time meeting, Abby met Garrett’s family and they went on their first double date bowling. When they made it back to the hotel, it said “Will you be my girlfriend?” spelled out with White Claws on the hotel bed. It was a yes! They dated for 3 more months, doing long distance communication and taking turns flying out to the other. Garrett met Abby’s family that Christmas and they were big fans. The two decided that long distance was hard and they needed to do something about it. Garrett planned to pack up and move everything to Abby’s small apartment in Charlotte so they could be together after 2.5 months of dating long distance. Sounds like a crazy thing to do! But they did it. Garrett and Apollo (dog) moved in and a few months later they got their own town home in an even better location in Charlotte. Fast forward 3 years later and here we are. Most couples don’t move in together after a few months, especially when you’ve only been with them on 4 occasions in person…. but that’s what they did. And it was the best risk either one of them ever took. They bring out the best in one another, but most importantly they exhibit respect and love always. Even in arguments and hard times. Their love is so strong and will continue to flourish and grow for years to come.

This was written in third person, but from the bottom of our hearts we want to thank you all for being apart of either of our journeys individually or being apart of our love story. We love you!