Their journey started on August 6, 2016, when Ryan asked Heather to be his girlfriend. While Heather was starting her career with the Ohio State Highway Patrol she stayed at the academy in Columbus through the week. Ryan toughed it out and stayed with her and supported her as he only got to see her on the weekends. Heather graduated in March of 2017, and they have been inseparable since. 

Quickly falling for each other, time started to fly by. Before they knew it they were looking at houses and talking about getting married. They purchased a house on August 7, 2018.

Heather’s not so subtle hints to Ryan about getting engaged were finally heard. In October 2020, Ryan and Heather were on a family vacation in Ashville NC. Little did Heather know that all week while she was out of the room or taking a shower, Ryan and his family were practicing the proposal. 

On October 11, 2020, Ryan and Heather were on their way home from Ashville, Ryan had planned a pit stop to overlook the mountains and pop the question. He gave Heather the job of finding an overlook after getting lost. Heather first took them to a cemetery. After googling “parks near me” she then took them to a dog park, soccer park, and finally found an art museum. Ryan snuck and asked the cashier for directions to the closest overlook. She directed him to the Haw Creek Valley Overlook. 

Heather noticed that Ryan started acting very antsy and nervous but she was still oblivious. While Heather was taking pictures of the view Ryan was fidgeting in his pocket and pulled out the ring. He got down on one knee and asked her to spend forever with him. SHE SAID YES! Ryan’s family were waiting eagerly to hear the news. They traveled back to his brothers house to celebrate before their drive back to Ohio.