It all started in August of 2019 when Mary Kate started her 3rd year of teaching at Verona Area High School. She spotted Andrew across the library at their first staff meeting of the year and thus, her crush on him began! Little did Mary Kate know that Andrew's crush on her developed shortly after. Next came two years of them working together, Mary Kate finding any excuse to go and talk to Andrew, and awkward texts between the two of them.

It all came to a head when Mary Kate was at a celebration for special ed staff to celebrate the end of a challenging school year. There her coworkers, Cameron and Jon, were discussing eligible bachelors for Mary Kate when Andrew's name came up! It just so happened that Jon would be playing golf with Andrew the very next day. He told Mary Kate he'd put in a good word for her and she didn't think much of it. Cut to the next morning, eating a greasy lunch to ease the hangover (yep, Mary Kate drank back then), she received a text from Andrew! They texted a bit before he bit the bullet and finally asked her on a date and the rest is history!

They had their first date at Lucille and both were instantly smitten. They continued to go on dates throughout the summer before declaring it official right before the start of the school year. They spent that school year discreetly flirting, finding excuses to swing by each other's offices, and trying to hide their romance from their students. They moved in that next summer, on their 1 year anniversary to be exact, and knew that they would spend their lives together.

And then, on December 31, 2022 right before midnight, Andrew and Mary Kate set out for their midnight walk (their yearly tradition). Andrew led Mary Kate to a nice spot by the pond with string lights and chairs set up for the both of them. Mary Kate sat down and Andrew kneeled down in front of her and popped the question! It was the easiest "YES!" she's ever said and they've been on cloud nine ever since.