If you ask Peyton - Junior year of college for me was less about school and more about doing as many social things as I could every day. Typically, you could find my friends and me at The Shed’s sand volleyball courts on any given Saturday evening. In between games one night, my friend’s girlfriend at the time approached me with a proposition- to go as her friend, Gabriella’s, date to the 2023 Phi Mu formal. I’d never been to a sorority event before, so I easily said yes.

For me, the “love at first sight” moment did not come that first night. Honestly, I was so nervous, that I barely remembered what Gabriella looked like after our brief introduction. But fast-forward to a couple of weeks later, when I first saw her in that pink formal dress; it was definitely “love at second sight.” That night, I started to fall in love with her heart and the way she cared for me, a guy she barely knew.

Given that she was the prettiest girl I had ever spoken to, I shot my shot and asked Gabriella on a date shortly after formal. The date couldn’t have gone better. We went to Zorba’s, got ice cream, and played board games with friends after. But I knew we were still both guarded and cautious. When I rushed the request for a second date, I was hit with a line every Christian man has heard before - “I need to pray about it” (which of course is necessary and wise but often a segway into rejection). While we both came to agree that the timing was not right then, I’m not sure Gabriella ever left my mind over the following months.

Knowing she loved sports, I’d send her an occasional sports video or Instagram post about LSU or the Saints. We spent the summer hundreds of miles apart, but Gabriella did not waste any time trying to get my attention once school started. I bumped into her on my way into Tiger Stadium at the first LSU game of the fall. I didn’t think much of it- it was nothing more than a simple “Hey, how have you been?” But a few days later, seemingly out of nowhere, the girl who had semi-rejected me asked if I could pick her up a smoothie from the gym. I remember thinking to myself, “A smoothie? We barely talk.” I texted the boys about what that could possibly mean, but the truth was that I knew in my heart everything was about to change.

I made us take things slow- so slow that Gabriella was the one who invited me to hang out first. After frequently hanging out in The Chapel’s coffee shop, I soon took Gabriella on a lake walk, and told her that I liked her and wanted to pursue her. In typical Gabriella fashion, she said absolutely nothing at first, which made me sweat. She eventually found the words to say she liked me too. Ever since that moment I’ve been the happiest guy in the world.

We had conversations about getting married way earlier than I’d ever publicly confess. For over a year and a half, I was able to date the most beautiful girl. We spent our nights hanging out with friends, going to LSU sporting events, and taking each other on dates at different restaurants in Baton Rouge. On a family vacation in December 2024, I asked her dad for his blessing in marriage. We were sitting in a hot tub in the snowy mountains of Colorado. A couple of months later, I looked the love of my life in the eyes and asked her to be mine forever. Her love has transformed me and pushed me closer to Christ. I could not be more grateful that she is my person- my best friend who will be by my side until the other side of eternity.

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If you ask Gabriella - Junior year of college was one of the best years of my life. I was finally building a great Christian community, I was finding a good school-life balance, and I was slowly beginning to feel confident in my plans post-graduation. My days and weekends were filled with spending time with my friends, no matter what that looked like. One Saturday night in February, a bunch of my friends and I were going to The Shed to watch one of our friends play at one of her very first gigs! At first, I wasn’t really up for going because I had a long week and just wanted to stay in, but I’m glad I was convinced to go because that was the night I met Peyton! A couple of my friends and I got on the topic of formal and who we were bringing. I was totally content with going by myself, but my friend Kayleigh had a better idea—she insisted that I bring one of her friends, Peyton. I didn’t really have much time to process this idea before she had Peyton in front of me, and everyone was anticipating what I was going to say. Of course, I asked him to my formal without even really knowing him.

Fast forward to formal night. I remember getting ready with my friends, blasting music in the halls of the Phi Mu house when I got the text: “We’re here.” I immediately started panicking. I was so nervous that I just started pacing around the house. It took me about ten minutes to build up the courage to walk out the door and go meet him. I walked up to him and had no idea what to say. Knowing me, I probably just blankly stared at him until someone else broke the awkward silence. Once all the nerves were settled, it quickly became one of the best nights of my life. Conversations flowed naturally, we danced, and laughed all night.

Shortly after formal, it was spring break, and I was on my way to Italy for a mission trip. Naturally, we kept in touch, and while I was on the trip, I received a text from him asking me to go on a date. I, of course, agreed. So when I got back from the mission trip, we went to a Greek restaurant, Zorba’s, and it was such a fun date. After dinner, we got ice cream and played games with friends! People still ask me what the best date I’ve ever been on is, and I tell them this one! Not long after this first date, Peyton asked me on a second date. Not quite sure if I was ready to move forward, I asked him to give me some time to think and pray about it. After about three days, we agreed that this wasn’t the right time. Looking back, this was the right thing to do, but I will admit, I did think about him often.

From about April to September, we didn’t really keep in touch other than the occasional Instagram DMs about sports and anything LSU. I remember coming back to school for sorority recruitment in early August and really just feeling burnt out on guys. This was something I had prayed about all summer, asking God to only let it happen if it was from Him. The month of August went by, and I was so content with where I was until the first LSU home game, when I ran into Peyton and my heart started beating. I got so excited/nervous. I hadn’t felt this feeling since walking out of the Phi Mu house to meet him for formal. And that’s when I knew this was going somewhere. During the time between that first meeting and the next, I tried to find ways to talk to him. One Monday night, I was at the Phi Mu house, and like most Monday nights, I’d get a smoothie from Smoothie King because I just didn’t love what Phi Mu served for dinner on Mondays. One of my friends had run into Peyton on her way to the house, and she said to me, “Peyton is at the Urec. You should ask him to bring you a smoothie.” I thought, yes, this is the perfect way to start a conversation with him! So I finally built up the courage to text him, but shortly after, I freaked out and declined the offer, lol. And because of that silly text, we started talking.

Peyton was taking things awfully slow. I knew what I wanted, but he just wasn’t quite sure yet. I couldn’t figure out how I was ever going to hang out with him until one of our mutual friends suggested that I make the first move and ask him to come hang out with a group of us at our church’s coffee shop. After hanging out a couple of times, he finally asked me on a second-first date. This time, we went on a lake walk. This is when he told me that he liked me and wanted to pursue me. Of course, I just blankly stared at the ground for a couple of seconds, giving no reassurance at all, and then finally built up the courage to say that I liked him too. Ever since that day, I’ve been the happiest and luckiest girl in the world.

For a year and a half now, I’ve had the greatest opportunity of dating the most gentle and kind man. We have experienced so much life together. When we hit our one-year mark in October, we started talking about getting engaged. I knew that meant talking to family and planning out what that would look like. On February 1st, 2025, Peyton asked me to spend forever with him. This was the easiest yes. Since the lake walk, I have fallen more in love with him. He has made Christ’s love so tangible. I wake up most mornings thanking God over and over again for giving me a love like this. I could not be more grateful that this is the person I get to do life with for all of my days.