Cory & Obella met in August of 2015 at Loyola University Maryland where they both attended graduate school for their Masters degree in Clinical Psychology. They first laid eyes on each other in PY746.401 Research Methods in Psychology I, one semester of a three-semester-long (4 for Obella 🥴) grueling course requirement for their thesis track program. Cory was the big-haired [adjective] teacher’s pet at the front of the class, Obella was the loud & boisterous [adjective] delinquent in the back. They immediately connected, became fast friends, and would often study and spend time together and with their other friends in their grad cohort.

In the Fall of 2016, for the third of that three-part requirement PY791.401 Computer Analysis of Psychological Data (bka SPSS), Cory & Obella were partnered together. For this class, assignments required 10-16 hours of work each week that they would traditionally crank out every Sunday. During this time, Cory & Obella became closer than ever; sharing more vulnerably about themselves and their stories, realizing more and more of the aspects of their identities that seemed inexplicably connected, commiserating about both of their independently long-term relationship woes (👀foreshadowing👀), offering each other grounding comfort during mental breakdowns about their coursework, ordering delicious comfort foods, and ending each day with a (secret) relaxing dooby in Cory’s car (cannabis wasn’t legal in Maryland yet).

Cory & Obella both had complicated ends to their grad experience. Neither going how they both expected. But they were connected and supportive of each other the entire time. Including supporting each other through both of their independent break-ups with those aforementioned long-term relationships (👀). In 2018, during Obella’s graduation season, with encouragement from one of his best friends (and, unfortunately, he must admit— his mother), Obella took things further with Cory and they begun their dating relationship. It wasn’t long before they moved in together, brought in Cory’s dog-sister, Kona, and found themselves fully entangled in what has now been a 6-7 year journey.

Together they have weathered a flurry of employment shifts, mental health struggles, and a political climate that always seems to present new challenges to their holistic wellbeing. And at the same time, together they have flourished through the pursuit of more academic and professional success, new spaces that allow for them to fully stretch into their creative afro-bohemian-maximalist spirits, new and old kinships that continue to grow in richness and depth, and triumphs of self-discovery & self-fulfillment. In the summer of 2022, on Cory’s mother’s native archipelago of Hawai’i, surrounded by their family, Obella asked Cory to evolve their relationship even more.

Join Cory & Obella as they proclaim their love on October 11, 2025p EST at Walker’s Overlook to all of their loved ones (found and gifted family) in a celebration that embodies the creative & expressive nature of their partnership

❤️‍🔥💜🤎♥️🧡💛❤️‍🔥