Meeting: Portland, Oregon. First Date: July 5, 2018. A trip to the Oregon Coast, a few beers at de Garde, and some Jetty clams and crabs later, we decided to give an international long-distance relationship a try. (We were too sweaty on the first date for a photo... because we went for an off-piste "hike" in Forest Park in July.)

Sending each other selfies throughout what would end up being four-and-a-half years long-distance...

From Julia's life in Oregon and Marat's life around the world...

First trip to Europe together: Italy! (Pictured: Teatro alla Scalla in Milan)

Then there was quarantine (from long-distance to sharing a 325 sq ft studio)...

Nature was healing!

And we got lots of nature time in during the following two years splitting our quarantine time between Portland and Oakland, road tripping and camping in between.

Finally Julia decided to pack up her Oregon life and move across the country...

We loved our first year living together in Newark and exploring this amazing city and its surrounding areas, from Jersey City (pictured) to Marat's old stomping grounds in Princeton! New Jersey will always be special to us.

It was pretty great to finally be in the same place.

Finally, the best part of traveling really was coming home, because we were coming home together.

After a great year in Newark, new jobs meant it was time to finally settle in New York. We bought a house in Brooklyn and made this incredible city our home.

2024 brought more travel, including our first trip to Japan for Marat's 40th birthday!

Our last Valentine's Day as boyfriend and girlfriend, featuring a snowstorm in Montreal.

And in April 2025, Marat took Julia out on a date to the MoMA followed by an old-school Italian restaurant in the Bronx. What happened next will shock you.