John and Nicole met for the first time over a game of pickleball. Depending who you ask, Cuatro (groomsman) or Shannon (his wife) were responsible for setting them up. Nicole and Shannon worked together in residency while John and Cuatro grew up alongside each other. Despite trying to hide their competitive spirits, they realized they made a great team on the court and decided to give it a shot being teammates off the court.

The love story continued to blossom with nights spent at the pool and hanging out with friends. John realized Nicole had even more in common with him, when she agreed to go on a trip to Las Vegas early on in their relationship. It was evident that both have the traveling gene. In fact, there's probably few times they don't have their next trip booked. In fact, they've travelled to: Las Vegas, Barcelona, Brimfield, Prosper, Estes Park, Cancun, New Orleans and Hawaii together.

These two remain grounded together by their faith. They bonded early on over being Catholic Christians. On Sundays you can usually find them going to mass at Our Lady of Grace followed by brunch at Julia's Bistro.

When they aren't traveling and have time off, you can find them at whatever Texas Country Concert is playing at Floores, White Water or Gruene Hall.

The story wouldn't be complete if we didn't mention their precious pups. John and Nicole have two geriatric dogs that mean the world to them. Tory is John's first dog that has been a Bragg since he started college. Her allegiance may be turning towards Nicole though since she tends to spoil them with extra treats more than she should. Oskee is Nicole's first dog as well. He joined Nicole when she started medical school and has been by her side through it all including the move to Texas. Oskee grew up living with Nicole and her two female roommates, so easy to say, he's happy to have John around for male companionship.

John and Nicole have realized that although they made great teammates on the pickleball court, they make even better teammates in real life. When John proposed to Nicole, she knew she couldn't imagine playing the game of life without him.