Amidst the calm of sipping wine from the comfort of our respective loungerooms, we were each blissfully unaware that fate was waiting, just one Right Swipe away, on April 3rd, 2020.

Tinder produced a match and the calm and comfort of our loungerooms became electric, with the anticipation of getting to know one another immediately. The banter continued well into the night and it was after 3am when we finally agreed to put the phones away til morning.

Both driven by love, a passion for living and exploring the world around us, we connected quickly and agreed to meet for coffee the following Monday, April 6th.

Monday rolled around and continued to roll on and on and on, until 4:30pm, when we would finally meet for coffee and beach walk. Ange arrived at the Seafront Oval, coffees in hand, only to witness a car mount the kerb, ripping off its front panel. "What have I got myself into?" was the only thought present. Across the carpark, there was a handsome bloke having a laugh at the driver's expense, soon nervously introducing himself as John... crisis averted!

Initially, we were careful to maintain 1.5m distance from one another, as we were at the height of the global pandemic, which shall not be named. However, our instant connection was undeniable and before we'd walked and talked our way just 1km down the beach, we'd breached the social distancing bubble and knew we'd never leave that space... That is, until we saw John's parents on the beach with Seattle and Maddi, right ahead! Taking 4 steps to his left and spinning on his heels in the sand, John suggested we head back the way we came, later admitting that he had contemplated pushing his date in to the bushes to hide her from his family!!

Beach walk over and coffee cups empty, we headed back to our cars, already planning for the next time we would see each other. At the top of the path, we shared the longest hug, knowing that we were giving half of our heart to the other.

The first six months took us on overnights hikes, music festivals, road trips, abseiling, 10km morning beach walks and many nights spent around a fire in the backyard, falling crazy in love.

Truth is, we knew it was forever from the beginning.

Fun fact: After our first overnight hike on K'Gari (Fraser Island) upon realising that we didn't fight once whilst setting up the tent, we went and got matching tattoos! The tattoo depicts the sun rising over coordinates for the place where we shared that long hug at the beach after our first meeting on April 6th, 2020.

Tinder certainly delivered the goods!