Patrick and Mary met in the Fall of 2018 when Mary started teaching at Patrick's alma mater, Georgetown Prep, where he has taught since 2014 . Although Patrick and Mary had never met before, their parents had many friends in common and were thrilled to hear that they had hit it off. Patrick and Mary discovered that in addition to teaching, they have many interests in common and they started to spend more time together outside of school. One of their shared interests is traveling; Patrick and Mary took their first trip together with friends to Paris to ring in the New Year in 2019. Patrick thoughtfully planned to propose in Paris at the same place where they had watched the New Year's fireworks together almost five years later.