Kristen and Max met their freshman year attending Middletown High School South through mutual friends. At first, Max found Kristen "cute and quirky," but Kristen thought Max was "a little immature" and that "his hair was too long!" Then, on the first day of Junior year, Kristen and Max found themselves in the same first period gym class. Kristen hardly recognized Max - his hair was shorter and he was taller! The two got to talking, and found that they were both auditioning for the school musical that year - Kristen as a cast member and Max as the drummer in the pit band. They were both cast, and a romantic connection came shortly after. The two began dating on February 26, 2013.

Kristen and Max attended their Junior Prom together on May 17th, 2013. While they had only been dating for three months at that point, Max marks this as "the night I fell in love." The two danced to their song, "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" by Aerosmith, and attended an after-prom party with their friends. A few weeks later, Max told Kristen how he was feeling. Kristen was so happy, but wanted to wait a little longer to reveal her feelings to make sure she was on the same page. It only took a week or two for her to repeat the words "I love you," and they haven't looked back since!

The college years were tough for Kristen and Max, but they persevered and grew closer than ever before. Kristen studied English Literature at The College of New Jersey, and Max went on to study Finance at Monmouth University. The two maintained a long-distance relationship for 4 years, seeing each other on special occasions and some weekends. Through it all, they never lost sight of their relationship or wavered in their love for one another. Now, Kristen writes out the holiday cards while Max handles the yearly spending budget—a win-win!

One thing about the Jacintos: They know how to Disney! Both Kristen and Max have been attending the Disney parks since they were children, and went together for the first time back in 2018.

On their second trip together in May of 2021, the family booked a dinner at Belle's Castle in Magic Kingdom. Kristen's favorite Disney movie has always been Beauty and the Beast, and she was looking forward to dine in the castle. Max decided last minute that he would never have an opportunity like this again; so three days before he proposed, he enlisted the help of his grandparents and had the ring, which he had been saving since November of the previous year, shipped overnight to the Disney resort they were staying at!

On May 29th, 2021, the family attended Magic Kingdom for the day, where they ended up seeing three separate proposals! Kristen, not knowing Max had a ring with him and wanting to make him feel better, made the comment "You know, its a lame day to get engaged anyway. Everyone's doing it!" Poor Max still decided to go through with it, and the two were engaged later that evening!

In March of 2022, Max landed a job with the Pittsburgh Steelers, his favorite football team of all time! While Kristen was initially apprehensive of being so far from their families in New Jersey, they both knew that this would be a wonderful opportunity for growth in their relationship. Both Kristen and Max moved to Pittsburgh in the Spring of 2022, and have loved every second of living out there! While they’ll never forget their roots in New Jersey, Pittsburgh has proved to be a wonderful home away from home 💛