Rachel and AJ met on the dating app Hinge: The dating app designed to be deleted... and it couldn't be more true. Their first date was on March 30th, 2018 (Good Friday) at Headquarters in River North, Chicago. Being a retro arcade bar, Rachel naturally beat AJ at Mortal Kombat and he's been trying to beat her ever since.

After dating for one year in Chicago, AJ decided to pursue his lifelong dream of becoming a commercial pilot. In order to fast track his training, AJ moved back to his hometown of Dallas, TX to train at ATP Flight School. Rachel, still working as an engineer at UL, had obligation to stay in Chicago. Both stayed incredibly busy working on their dreams, calling each other every day on Rachel's ride home from work, and visiting each other every 6 weeks.

After a full year apart, Rachel was able to finally move to Texas to be with AJ as he completed his hours to become a pilot. With AJ ready to become an instructor and Rachel taking on a new job role, they felt like everything was finally lining up. As we got ready for moving day, AJ made plans to drive up to Chicago so both of them could enjoy the road trip together. Little did they know, the universe was ready to challenge them again. The day after they settled into their new Dallas apartment, the shelter-in-place rules took immediate effect.

2020 has definitely been a year of interesting headwinds, but Rachel and AJ had no intention of letting that affect their plans. On September 5th, 2020, AJ planned the most thoughtful proposal in their own backyard. Each member of Rachel's family wrote her a note to describe how much they loved her and AJ. From there, he knelt down on a knee and asked her to marry him. He even surprised Rachel by coordinating both of their immediate families to witness such a special moment. She couldn't stop crying because she was so overwhelmed with happiness.