If you don’t know already, Patrick and Ashley’s love story began long before they even realized it. They both walked the same halls at Athens Drive High School, but fate had a different timeline in mind for them. It wasn’t until college that their paths truly intertwined—thanks to a beach trip that neither of them could have predicted would change everything.

Ashley’s roommate from ECU invited her to a beach house getaway, where her boyfriend’s friends would be hanging out. Among them was Patrick. That weekend, amidst the ocean breeze and sunlit laughter, a friendship quietly took root.

Over the next few years, they spent time together here and there, but life pulled them in different directions. In 2011, Ashley left Raleigh for Boone, NC, to finish her degree, and their connection faded into the background.

Then, nearly a decade later, fate stepped in again. In the most unexpected of places—Walmart’s candy aisle—Patrick spotted a familiar face. He instinctively said her name: “Ashley Lewis.” In that brief moment, something long lost was found again. They chatted for just a few minutes, but it was enough. Ashley later sent him her number, and they made plans to reconnect.

One day, Ashley asked Patrick to help her install a side mirror on her car. He did, of course, and what started as casual hangouts soon became something neither of them could ignore. Finally over dinner one evening, Ashley turned to Patrick with a smile and asked the question that would change everything:

“Why haven’t you kissed me yet?”

And with that, their love story truly began—one that had been waiting years to be written. The rest, as they say, is history.