Deven and Kayla met during their freshmen year at Valparaiso University through mutual friends. They were not very close friends at first and usually only hung out in group settings. Sophomore year, they grew closer and attended the Pi Kappa Alpha formal together, getting lost in the snowy streets of Chicago on the way. The formal had been cut short, but their feelings for each other were just beginning to grow. After the formal, neither of them made a move on the other, secretly agreeing that it would only complicate everybody's friendship if it weren't to work out. They grew apart, only to find their way back to each other towards the end of their senior year.

The summer after graduation, Deven and Kayla returned to their hometowns on opposite sides of Indianapolis. They continued to talk everyday and eventually made plans for their first date; dinner at Applebee's, followed by bowling. They continued seeing each other on the weekends, until Deven finally asked Kayla to be his girlfriend on November 6, 2021.

On October 12, 2024, Deven had Kayla’s friends take her out on what seemed to be a “Girl’s Day” but would turn out to be the day Deven would propose. The girls had gone to brunch and to get their nails done when Deven had called them saying he was stranded with a flat tire and needed picked up. The girls drove to where he was “playing golf” at Fort Harrison State Park. When they got out of the car, Kayla’s sister, Brianna, had greeted them and took Kayla to a trail that led to a tree where Deven was waiting to propose. As he got down on one knee, their closest family members lined up and watched as she said the easiest yes of her life.