Karen started at Spark Therapeutics in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where Mike worked (big shout out to her former boss Matt Petroff for hiring her). Mike was her onboarding partner, or "Spark Buddy". What followed was many months of flirting in the lab until..

Spark held a happy hour welcoming their new department head. Which meant open bar on Spark's dime. Everyone was drunk. Mike decided it was worth the risk of Karen telling Human Resources and made a move. He then walked her home and they kissed overlooking the romantic Schuylkill River.

Karen met Mike's entire family for the first time for Thanksgiving in Mike's hometown of Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania. This included his mom and two brothers with their wives, and also honorary members Eliot and Tina. They made her feel right at home.

Mike met Karen's father's side of the family in Bricktown, New Jersey. It included so many family members he joked he needed her to make a family tree to help him remember how everyone was related. Karen was so happy when her grandmother told Mike at the end of the weekend "Help yourself to anything in the kitchen, you're family now".

Mike and Karen move in together! Karen's cat Bailey was displeased at first but she got used to her new parent, probably because it was one more person to feed her.

Karen's childhood friend was getting married in southern California and the couple decided it was a perfect time to meet Karen's parents. After the wedding they road tripped to Karen's hometown of Scottsdale, Arizona, passing through many national parks. They spent the weekend at Karen's parent's house and even met her sister. Everyone got along great, though Mike did have to get used to Karen's mother's cleaning tendencies (a lot of cups went missing).

Karen had already been applying to graduate schools when they got together, and she finally left on August 5th 2022, exactly one year after their first kiss. Their long distance relationship was difficult but they made it work with constant communication and unwavering support.

Mike met Karen's mother's family in Belgium and he was a huge hit. The language barrier was difficult with her older relatives, but he is keeping up with his Duolingo. Thankfully all of her cousins are bilingual.

Mike and Karen got engaged in one of Karen's favorite places, Sedona, Arizona. Mike picked a beautiful private clearing on a nature trail to propose. They then spent the rest of the day eating Mexican food and going to local wineries. It was a perfect day.

Karen moves back to Philadelphia after her degree is over! She (and Bailey) move into Mike's Fishtown apartment, and they spend their free time exploring the diverse food scene and trying every cocktail bar in the city.