Austin and Monica first met on her 19th birthday in 2017 when he came to St. Louis University to visit his cousin Emily, who was Monica’s roommate. They went out to dinner together at Stacked to get burgers and became friends. Afterwards, Austin returned to Carbondale, but remained in contact with Monica. In the summer of 2018, Emily invited both to go see Keith Urban at Hollywood Casino Amphitheater where sparks flew between the two. Later that same summer Monica invited Austin to attend a Rascal Flatts concert with her family. Austin asked Monica to be his girlfriend on October 12, 2018, during Unofficial weekend in Carbondale. They did long distance for 3 years. After graduation, Monica got a job working at Cardinal Health and Austin moved to St. Louis and got a job with the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department. On June 16, 2023, Austin proposed to Monica at the summit of Mount Le Conte in Gatlinburg, TN after a 9-mile hike up.

They are very excited to be married and celebrate their love story with everyone.