Spring of 2021 was a very strange time with both me and Melissa being in school during Covid. Our classes were online, and campuses were empty. This led to the rise of dating apps, which led to me finding my future wife. Melissa and I were both college students in downtown Pittsburgh, swiping through dating apps. I first found Melissa on Bumble in 2021. Melissa made the first move, and messaged me, “What’s your favorite Pop Tart flavor?” It was like something out of a romance novel. All I knew about Melissa is that she was Christian and a student at Duquesne University, a half mile away from me.

We had our first date on March 21, 2021, in Point State Park. We had a picnic and talked for over 5 hours. I didn’t wear sunscreen and got burned on half of my body straight down the middle. I walked Melissa home, and we agreed we wanted to see each other again. On our sixth date, I asked Melissa to be my girlfriend, to which she replied, “Um…sure…” I later found out that she was actually freaking out because she had never had a boyfriend before. Melissa and I are actually each other’s first (and only) boyfriend and girlfriend. Patience paid off for us both!

In the summer of 2022, I faked a proposal to Melissa with a Ring Pop in front of her parents to prank them, as her sister had just gotten engaged the day before. What Melissa didn’t know was that I saved the Ring Pop and the wrapper because I had a plan for it. A year later, I bought Melissa’s engagement ring. I perfectly resealed it inside the original Ring Pop wrapper with the plastic ring still inside. On June 30, 2023, I went to Melissa’s house to watch an outdoor movie with her family. I offered Melissa a Ring Pop, and she was completely surprised to discover an engagement ring inside instead of candy. I asked her to marry me, and she said yes!

Since the beginning of our relationship, we had always been marriage-minded and knew that God had a beautiful future in store for us. It is crazy to think if we hadn’t gone on our Bumble profiles on that exact day, we might have never met. We are both so excited to continue growing deeper in love and strengthening our faith each day together. We are so grateful to everyone who has supported us in our relationship that has led us to this point and ask that you continue to keep us in your prayers as we start our marriage!