Katy and Jack met in the fall of 2020 when Katy joined the University of South Carolina Cross Country club, where Jack was already a member. Both were experienced runners, Jack from Suwanee, Georgia and Katy from Irmo, South Carolina, and found community in college with other runners on the club.

The club's daily afternoon practices meet at the practice fields behind the campus fitness center, which is ultimately where Jack proposed.

Throughout the fall of 2021, Katy and Jack found themselves getting closer to other members on the club team. With COVID finally starting to dissipate, there were less restrictions on socialization, such as football games, so a large, close-knit friend group developed, which included both Jack and Katy.

Having "gotten over" an embarrassingly large crush on Jack from the previous semester, Katy enjoyed this newfound friendship with him. On January 30th, 2022, while running with two other girls, Katy declared that she was "not interested in male attention."

She was wrong. The next day, on January 31st, Katy and Jack hung out (alone), and they realized they were both interested in starting a romantic relationship.

Jack graduated with an undergraduate degree in civil engineering that spring. He returned to USC for a master's, remaining in Columbia for three more semesters before graduating again in December of 2023. He currently lives back home in Suwanee, employed at an engineering firm in a neighboring town.

Katy graduated with an undergraduate degree in art studio in May of 2024. She has since graduated with a master's in art teaching at USC in December of 2025 and plans to become an art teacher.

Throughout their relationship, Jack and Katy have learned and grown with each other. One of their favorite ways they've seen growth is within their faith, and they look forward to seeing how God continues to walk with them through marriage.

- Katy and Jack's official dating anniversary is 2/22/22.

- The movie Katy and Jack were watching when they got together was The Lego Batman Movie.

- Jack has finished three 50km races (he's run the distance informally even more), two marathons (which have qualified him for the Boston Marathon), and one 50-mile race.

- In high school, Katy and Jack unknowingly ran at the same cross country meet when Katy's team visited an invitational in Atlanta. Katy beat out a runner from Jack's high school to win her race.

- Jack's hair is almost certainly longer than Katy's. It's very curly, so it's hard to know for sure.