Miranda and Tony met in college at Mizzou in 2014, although the two have different memories of the first time they met. Miranda swears it was with her parents at a Mizzou football tailgate, and Tony remembers a night at his fraternity questioning Miranda’s outfit choice of leather pants in 90 degree weather (one of Tony's favorite stories to tell that was included in his proposal to Miranda).

The two became fast friends bonding over banana bread from Tony’s parents, Thursday nights at their favorite piano bar, a shared appreciation for Mexican food and post sorority chapter hangouts at Tony’s fraternity. One of their favorite memories (maybe just Miranda’s) is the night Tony left his El Rancho nachos to be there for her when she needed him most.

Tony moved back to St. Louis after school and Miranda to Austin, Texas. Even though a part, they kept in touch and were there for each other through good times and bad- still just friends. Tony always starting a conversation with “Rando, how’s the love life?” He always made an effort to see Miranda when she was in town, especially when she moved back to Chicago. Miranda’s parents had Tony over for dinner all the time, he’d ask her to lunch and he’d join her family for baseball games - still just friends. Miranda’s grandma asked “what about Tony?” and Miranda said "He's like a brother".

Something changed as they hung out more when she moved back to the midwest and when the pandemic hit, Miranda moved back to St. Louis for what she thought was temporary. Tony joined her family for rib night in the garage to be social distanced. Miranda wanted to talk to Tony about how she felt, but there were too many distractions from meeting Ries (their dog) to her parents not leaving him alone. With a push from her mom, Miranda sent a text to Tony (as he was walking into the O’Briens to thank Kelly’s mom) that would change their future forever "Hey, have you ever thought of us dating?". He responded "Definitely not a no."

They quickly started dating, fell in love, bought a house, raised their sweet golden retriever and are building a life together centered on love, family and friends. They love going out to their favorite restaurants (La Catrina and O+O Pizza), remodeling their 75-year-old home, gardening, walking their dog through Tower Grove and Forrest Park, heading to a Blues or Cardinals game, spending time with their families and friends, making homemade pizza and finding a movie that’s the perfect combination of their styles.

Some people say falling for your best friend is what everyone dreams of. And after knowing each other for over 5 years before dating, Miranda and Tony couldn’t agree more. He’s her lobster- her person, her perfect match.