In January of 2022 Maddie was in New York visiting some friends and met Sam for the first time, 5 years after the first Instagram DM, over dinner at Emmy Squared pizza in Brooklyn.

The pair ordered a pizza and an appetizer but neither one ate nearly anything at all, both pumped with adrenaline and nerves from the date. By the end of the date, Sam and Maddie knew they wanted to eat dinner together forever.

A month later, Sam loaded up a U-haul with his belongings and his cat Lucie, and headed for a new life in Ohio. It sounded crazy to everyone else, but it didn't feel crazy at all to Sam. He was just moving to be with his person.

Maddie didn't feel nuts at all having an almost-stranger moving into her new house. She just felt like she was welcoming in her partner.

Sam and Maddie got engaged around a year later, on February 19, 2023.