Auna and Sam attended middle school together in Greenwood, IN. Auna's first memory of Sam happened in the lunch line, when Sam told her she had "big hair." To be fair, this was during the late 2000's when teased hair and Bump Its were having a moment. Despite having some mutual friends and a class or two together, Auna and Sam didn't really cross paths until after middle school. A friend of theirs invited them both over the summer after 8th grade, and after eating pizza and watching movies, Sam asked Auna out that night. They have been together since June 23, 2011.

In May 2023, Sam told Auna he wanted to go watch shopping at a jeweler. Sam had been looking at watches for a few months so this didn't seem unusual. Once there, Sam and a salesman began looking at watches and Auna browsed around the store. When she rejoined the boys the salesman asked if she had seen anything she liked, and that he'd recommend a section at the front of the store-leading them both to the engagement rings. At the time Sam claimed this was all the work of the salesman and that he had no idea. After the engagement Auna learned Sam had previously spoken with that salesman, and returned the very next day to buy her ring.

In late June and early July, Sam and Auna went to Colorado to celebrate their 12 year anniversary. Towards the end of their trip they visited the Denver Botanical Gardens on the Fourth of July. Surrounded by so many beautiful plants, Sam proposed in a secluded area of the gardens with the very first engagement ring Auna had tried on at the jewelry store.