Leslea and Matthew met in 2022 at GCU during the fall semester. They were both living in Saguaro Hall, Leslea as an RA and Matthew as a resident.

As an RA, Leslea had a "duty night" once a week where she would sit in the lobby of the building for a few hours with a few other RAs to spend time with the residents.

As a resident, Matthew would stop by the desk on Leslea's duty nights to hangout (and get to know her more).

They quickly connected over swing dancing and rock climbing and continued to hang out during Leslea's duty nights and stopped to talk when they passed each other in the lobby or around campus.

Eventually, Matthew gathered up the courage to ask Leslea on a date. On December 10th, 2022, he picked up her favorite meal and brought her to the place (which he kept hidden until they showed up) he liked to go to spend time with the Lord.

After quite a few more dates (and Leslea had finally told him she was ready to date him) Matthew asked Leslea to be his girlfriend on January 13th, 2023.

11 months later, at what Leslea thought was a venue tour, Matthew asked Leslea to marry him! In secret, he gathered both of their families and flew Leslea's closest friends to Washington for them all to be there during the special day.

Pike Place Market