Our story officially began on March 6, 2020, when we first met at Thai 9 in Dayton, Ohio. Michael was hosting his friend Maddie and her two roommates for the weekend. Despite Maddie's close friendship with Kelly throughout undergrad and both being at the University of Dayton since 2015, we had never been introduced before. The next day, we were all on campus for college gameday to celebrate UD basketball when Kelly and Michael exchanged numbers and began talking. Two weeks later, our first date took place at Michael’s apartment, a result of the world shutting down due to Covid-19. We still had a wonderful meal courtesy of Chef Michael and Trader Joe’s Orange Chicken. It didn’t take long for us to make it official over chicken tacos on May 5, 2020.

Since then, we have shared many happy moments, including visiting friends throughout the Midwest, drinking lots of bourbon, and exploring the cities of Dayton and Cincinnati together. Our love has blossomed and grown as Kelly earned her Doctorate of Physical Therapy and began her first job, while Michael moved apartments and started a new job of his own.

On January 14, 2023, Michael proposed in Eden Park, one of the first places Kelly took him on his first downtown Cincinnati trip. Kelly has since recruited Michael to Cincinnati, where we are excited to start the newest chapter of our fairytale as husband and wife.