By fall 2012, Katie and Ryan had been on a lot of dates with strangers they met on the internet. All of Katie's dates were bad and most of Ryan's were good, which is consistent with dating in Los Angeles.

Katie and Ryan met online when Katie sent a DM asking what his favorite sushi is. Ryan answered salmon avocado roll, which was acceptable to Katie (she was screening for men who think California rolls count as sushi). They met in person at Villain's Tavern in Los Angeles, where Ryan offered to buy Katie a drink and Katie declined for her own safety. The date went poorly at first - Katie was unsure of this tall, handsome man with a resonant voice, and found it all too good to be true, so responded with guarded behavior - until Ryan decided he didn't care anymore and started making fun of Katie. Apparently, Katie had answered many questions on OKCupid incorrectly, including the number of continents on the planet (in her defense, she mistakenly answered that there were eight continents, but also indicated that it was "very important" that her partner think that there are seven continents. She blames late-night quiz-taking on her phone and clumsy thumbs for the mistakes).

Lots of laughter and joking ensued and the date ended well and another was scheduled, followed by many, many more. Katie and Ryan discovered a shared love of animals (especially shelter dogs), trivia, escape rooms and Law & Order. Ryan introduced Katie to the Bachelor franchise and regrets it to this day.

In March 2020, they went to the final pre-COVID live taping of After the Final Rose, which was pretty awesome (even though it was Pilot Pete's season). They were scheduled to go to Costa Rica the next week, where Ryan planned to propose. Then the pandemic interrupted their plans. Instead, the day before her 35th birthday, Ryan joined Katie on the couch where she was pouting about their canceled vacation and binging Netflix. He got down on one knee and proposed, and Katie accepted.

Her mom called it "Love in the time of the Coronavirus," which makes sharing a small space during a lockdown sound more romantic than it really is. Now, with their friends and family, Katie and Ryan are thrilled to finally gather to celebrate their decade-long relationship and formally commit their lives to one another. And also, eat, drink and dance in public! Finally!