Michael and Katelyn first met in 2014 when Michael was living in Boone, NC and Katelyn was completing her last year at Caldwell Early College High School. In millennial fashion, the two met on Tinder (grandparents, this is a dating app). Katelyn would drive to Boone to see Michael often, and Michael traveled down the mountain to visit with Katelyn's parents and attend Katelyn's brother's baseball games. Michael moved back home to Raleigh, NC at the end of the spring 2015 semester, right before Katelyn moved to Boone to begin her freshman year at Appalachian State University. While the two were in different parts of the state, they maintained contact and often met half-way between Boone and Raleigh to see each other. This continued until Katelyn graduated college in 2018. Once Katelyn moved to Washington D.C, Michael decided it was time to (finally) make his move and the two officially began dating in October of 2018. The two maintained a long-distance relationship for three years before Michael moved to D.C himself in 2021. There, the two moved into their first apartment and adopted their first pet together (and Michael's first pet ever), Margo.

Washington D.C holds a very special place in Katelyn's heart, so Michael knew this is where he wanted to propose. When Katelyn's family was visiting D.C in March of 2023, they were walking the National Mall to see all of the monuments in the rain. Once they got to the Lincoln Memorial, Michael proposed in front of Katelyn's family, his family, and all of their friends, which was a huge surprise for Katelyn! Katelyn had no idea Michael's family or their friends were in town. Everyone popped out afterwards and they all spent the afternoon celebrating together. After two years together in D.C, the two have now relocated to Charlotte, North Carolina where they are having fun exploring another new city together.