Christian and Ashling matched on the dating app Hinge, but it's not as simple as that! Christian was stationed in Portsmouth, NH and Ashling happened to be driving through the area on a weekend trip with friends in New Hampshire. It just so happened to be the right place at the right time when they swiped right!

"Christian, I presume?" were the first words Ashling spoke to Christian as they met up for lunch in historic Salem, MA. They met near a yellow building (which could do with a coat of paint, according to Christian's text- pictured above at a later date). Christian had just arrived at his submarine in Portsmouth (he was barely qualified to talk on the phone), and Ashling was just starting her first year teaching at a new school Lynn English High School (Go Bulldogs!). Little did they know that this date would be the start of another important aspect of their lives!

On March 24, 2024, Christian got down on one knee on the banks of the Merrimack River, in Newburyport, MA to ask the most important question of his life: "How about forever?" Newburyport had played a special part in their love story, as a halfway meeting point between Portsmouth and Swampscott, and the place where Ashling and Christian first lived together.