Raul and Karina met on a cold, very stressful Monday morning. Karina had her hair slicked back into a bun, Raul had his head shaved to a clean #1, and they were wearing their most crisp white T-shirts. This first time they spoke was paired with the pure anxiety of not knowing what we were getting into, the Police Academy. You guessed it! They both went the Academy together, but our love for each other did not start right out the gate. Karina hated Raul’s guts! Raul constantly picked and bugged Karina, and if you know her, you know that fuse is tiiiiiiiiiiiny. Little did she know, that was Raul’s way in. They soon began talking more and more. Raul and Karina would even study in the car together before they went to the academy each morning. At one point, Karina even began to bring Raul fresh squeezed orange juice in the morning and teaching him Spanish. She must have known this would be the outcome. Before they began talking, Raul sent Karina a “risky” text message about telling another recruit to not give up and quit the academy. This text was addressed to the struggling recruit. Raul foolishly sent it to Karina, but on purpose to get her attention. Shortly after, Raul and Karina went on their first date at the Cave restaurant in Ventura, and that where the relationship began. Although in the beginning, there were many off and ons, Karina stayed determined to get what she wanted all along. Raul and Karina officially became boyfriend and girlfriend on January 2, 2020. From there its all history. They moved in together shortly after in Karina’s first home in Camarillo and raised their two dogs at the time, Mowgli and Mugsy. Raul and Karina spent their time dating and have had a ton of experiences together from concerts, traveling out of country, and sports events. Karina and Raul then welcomed another dog into the family, Jeter. On hot and humid day, in Nashville Tennessee, Raul decided to get on his knee and pop the question. Surrounded by some of their closest friends, rose petals, and a beautiful lake, Raul dropped to his knee and asked Karina to marry him. Of, course she said yes, and in her words “ugly cried.”