Michaela and Matteo first met in the Fall of 2015 at the United States Naval Academy. Though they were just friends and fellow Cobras in the 14th Company for the first few years, their friendship began to blossom in the Fall of 2017. After deciding that they wanted to officially date, Matteo asked for a Company transfer that December and the rest is…history.

Matteo graduated in May of 2018 and reported to ship-driving school in San Diego. During his last weekend there in August, he flew Michaela out for one more visit. While there, he proposed to her after they had completed a rosary as the sun was setting over Downtown San Diego.

That next week, Matteo was on a plane to Sasebo, Japan to report onboard USS GERMANTOWN and shortly thereafter Michaela was on a plane for a semester abroad in Latvia. Though separated by over 4,800 miles, their engagement began with a lot of facetimes and phone calls. They were able to re-connect again at Christmas that year as Matteo was able score some time off from Sasebo and Michaela returned from her semester abroad.

Michaela would go onto graduate in May of 2019 and reported to San Diego for ship-driving schooling before joining Matteo in Sasebo, Japan and reporting onboard USS GREEN BAY that August. As fate would have it, Matteo needed to attend a week-long school in San Diego to obtain a necessary qualification and it coincided with Michaela’s last week in San Diego.

Knowing that they needed to be married for the purposes of the Navy, they tried to get married in the Catholic Church. After being unable to find a priest that would marry them, Michaela and Matteo knew their best option was to get legally married.

On August 19, 2019, Michaela and Matteo got legally married at the Kearney Mesa courthouse in San Diego. That following Friday, they were on a plane bound for Sasebo, Japan to begin their marriage journey. And what a journey it has been so far…their first four years of marriage has included lots of time apart between patrols and deployments. However, since being stationed together in San Diego since December of 2021, they have enjoyed more time together.

Their Catholic Faith has played a pivotal role throughout their entire relationship and is the cornerstone of their marriage. Michaela and Matteo are beyond excited to celebrate with friends and family as they are finally able to get married in the Catholic Church!