During the summer of 2020, while on break from medical school, Jillian decided she needed something to fill her now empty schedule and tried out a dating app. She saw Thomas’s profile, however, there was an unfortunate picture. He had a photo from his last days of law school with his roommates (pictured above). He thought it was a good picture; Jillian’s asthma didn’t agree with the cigars, so she swiped left and didn’t think any more of it.


Fortunately for Thomas, they were both still single during Jillian’s next summer break. Jillian once again saw Thomas’s dating profile. But this time he didn’t have the (now infamous) cigar picture. Jillian remembered Thomas’s profile from the previous year, and thought she would give him a shot this time around.


Gifted with a miraculous second chance he didn’t even know he had, Thomas almost ruined it by waiting until the very last moment in their second date to kiss Jillian. Luckily for Thomas, Jillian stuck around for that kiss and for some reason has stuck around all this time later. Jillian was unfazed when Thomas had to move to Traverse City for work just shy of a year after their first date. Maybe she stuck around because Thomas grew a beard, but she insists it’s just because she loves him.


Jillian and Thomas have navigated the long-distance relationship by making frequent trips to visit each other. While on opposite ends of the state, they have stayed connected by watching The Great British Baking Show simultaneously, and even turning it into a competition (the season score is currently tied 2-2-1). Despite the distance, their relationship has grown closer as Jillian went through classes to become Catholic and Thomas suffered heartbreak as a newly-minted Toronto Maple Leafs fan. Both continue their love of college football, although Thomas is happy to note that his Wolverines haven’t lost to Jillian’s Buckeyes since she swiped right.


Jillian and Thomas can’t wait to start their lives together and look forward to sharing their wedding day with all their close friends and family.