In August of 2019, Payton and TJ were both attending a training for KPMG in Chicago. Right away, Payton thought TJ was so cute and invited him out (well, actually she made someone else invite him because she was too nervous) with a group of people to the Shed Aquarium. After TJ declined due to CPA studying, she thought she would never see him again. Fast forward to December and the day of the KPMG Christmas party, Payton sees TJ and realizes her crush is back, and she can't not talk to him (as she chickened out last time). After a few vodka sodas, she introduced herself, and they ended up talking most of the night. TJ left the bar, and they shared their first text: "We are going to the bar next door."

The next few months were followed by a lot of Snapchats and chatting through Skype. As they were both just entering busy season, there was no time to see each other, especially since Payton lived in Chicago and TJ lived in Milwaukee. Then COVID hit in March, which ended up being a blessing in disguise for their relationship. With the ability to work wherever, they were able to spend long weeks at TJ's lakehouse, where they credit the place they fell in love.

They moved downtown Milwaukee in July 2021, the same day as game 1 of the NBA finals (go Bucks!). Two years later, TJ proposed with both of their families at the place they fell in love: the lakehouse <3.