When Emily first moved to Orange County, she was invited to a Two Friends concert by one of Chris’s mutual friends, which is where they first met. After that night, Chris invited Emily to his 4th of July party, and from there, his group of friends began to include Emily in all of their activities. Chris and Emily were fast friends, always looking for each other at parties. For the first 2 years that they knew each other, that’s all they were — great friends. Emily would even help Chris with his dating life, suggesting good dates that he could take girls on. Little did she know, he would take her on those one day. 



6 months before they started dating, Chris’s mom, one of their girlfriends, and Emily were all talking about how they wished Chris would find a nice girl to settle down with. Emily immediately removed herself from being a potential match, saying that they were just friends.

In February of 2023, when spending time with their group, one of their friend’s moms kept asking Emily what was going on with her and Chris because it seemed like they were flirting. Once again, Emily insisted that they were just friends. That night, Emily and Chris had a long heart to heart, where Emily realized that maybe there was something more to their friendship that she wasn’t seeing. She decided then that she needed to make a move and ask Chris out on a date because she felt like they owed it to each other to find out.

At Emily’s birthday party that year, Emily shared with their close friends her intentions, only for Chris to leave early that night because he was doing the Hard 75. Emily had borrowed coolers from Chris for the party and decided that when she gave them back to him, she would ask him out. The morning after her party, he said that he could come pick up the coolers himself, so Emily worked herself up and practiced asking Chris out. When Chris showed up, he surprised Emily with a box of donuts and completely took her by surprise. Instead of her well thought out speech of how they should try dating, she got very awkward but still managed to ask the question. They immediately planned 2 dates that week. When Emily came home from their first date, she told her roommate “I think I’m going to marry him.”

In September of 2024, Chris and Emily planned a vacation in Hawaii for one of their friend’s weddings. Emily suggested that they go on a hike while they were there, and Chris decided that this would be the best moment to propose to Emily. Chris invited his childhood friend to join them on the hike. Conveniently, the friend’s wife is a photographer, so Chris would be able to get good photos of him proposing. Their friend that introduced them, who is their future officiant, also joined them. Bright and early that morning, they set out on a brutal uphill hike. As soon as they got to the top, their mutual friend immediately asked if they wanted a picture together, so Emily realized that something was up. Chris was being very particular about what view he wanted, and once he found the perfect spot and shooed some other tourists out of the way, he got down on one knee and popped the big question. Emily immediately mocked him, but then quickly said YES.