Cory Stephens met Ryan Christopher in 2017 while Ryan was down in Louisiana for a family event. Although they didn't meet in person right away, they FaceTimed for a month before finally meeting IRL.

Before their second date, Ryan was telling his sisters all about Cory and how excited he was to see him again. Alas, it was Christmas Eve and his sisters had other plans, so they demanded he invite Cory to join the family's festivities. Thinking this was insane, Ryan did it anyway and Cory accepted. Little did he know he was in for a night of beer pong, flip cup, and Christopher craziness that only their family could deliver.

Ryan had to return to NYC, but they decided there was a spark and both of them wanted to explore it further. For nearly 9 months, they dated long-distance, meeting up in whichever cities had the cheapest flights from both destinations.

Finally, in September of 2018, Cory moved to NYC and they made it official.

The following few years were full of all sorts of ups and downs, but their relationship grew stronger. In 2022, Ryan decided to pop the question to Cory in front of St. Louis Cathedral in New Orleans, a mainstay of both of their lives since birth.

But that wasn't the end! Never to be outdone, Cory surprised Ryan by asking him in Ireland on their anniversary trip so that they could be engaged on two continents.

Ryan said yes, of course.