Kaylin and Jacob both attended Gladbrook-Reinbeck High School, Kaylin being a few years ahead of Jacob. Even though the school was small, neither of them knew the other existed.

After high school, they both joined the military. Kaylin, the Navy, and Jacob, the Marine Corps.

They both had the same group of friends, yet, somehow, they never crossed paths before 2023.

In 2023, Kaylin decided to reach out to some old friends from high-school and see if they wanted to do a game night or just catch up since it had been several years since they had seen each other.

A group chat was started that included the mutual friends, Kaylin, and Jacob. Kaylin knew from the start of that group chat that the relationship with Jacob was either going to be the most perfect love story ever, or she was going to absolutely hate the guy.

The game night took place on a Friday night. Kaylin had been on the road all day for work and Jacob had been having a not-so-great day himself. He arrived late, grumpy, and very tired.

After a few rounds of card games, the two caught onto each other's sense of humor pretty well. From there, the real relationship began.

Jacob and Kaylin began spending a lot of time together, both in town and on the road as Jacob's job at the time involved a lot of travel. This gave ample time for them to get to know one another, go on dates, and determine if there was a future for them or not.

The first date was to Buffalo Wild Wings to eat and watch the Cubs game. They learned they like the same baseball team and enjoyed discussing other sports. Kaylin was not a big football fan, as she did not understand the game at all, but Jacob was determined to change that.

Over the time they spent together, they became very fond of each other very quickly and decided to take the next step. June of 2023, they moved into their first apartment together in Gladbrook, Jacob's hometown. In September of 2023, they moved buildings to have a bigger apartment, which is where they are today.

November 2024, on Thanksgiving Day, in front of his dad's side of the family, Jacob asked Kaylin to marry him. The wedding planning had begun prior to the proposal as they both knew where it was all going.

November 30, 2025: I (Kaylin) sit here on the couch, 5 days post op, writing this website and try to give a glimpse into our life together so far, without giving too much information. At this point, we really just have this to say:

We cannot wait to celebrate our love with everyone next fall and cannot wait to begin our future together!