In July of 2022, we were both of the mindset, without ever having met each other, that we were going to date a lot before we settled down with someone worthy. On July 4th, Dustyn Waite happened to attend an event where one of his friends, Sam Berry, would also be in attendance. It was there that Dustyn decided he was going to set up a hook up between mutual friends. He had no idea that he would set up a meeting that would last a lifetime.

Instagrams were carefully examined, and phone numbers were exchanged. On July 10th I met Samantha at a place that I love in the Lower East Side called Nowon. I figured it was the perfect location to share in our mutual interest of world class burgers and tater tots. An excellent meal shared with a stranger was the worst case scenario. Over the course of that evening we discussed everything. The worst stories anyone could ever hear about each other, our best, most triumphant stories, families, foods, dreams and ambitions. We finished the night on the rooftop of her apartment after having consumed a …fair amount of alcohol. It was in that spot that I professed to her that this relationship could very well be “the next great thing in both of our lives.” Those were my exact words.

We would go on to find a way onto the roof of that building and return to that spot a year later, only a month after our engagement, to reflect on the last year together. In that time, we grew together as people, as professionals, as lovers, and as best friends willing to do anything for each other. Drawn together by the invisible string of fate, we have never been more confident in our love and connection with another person. I have found my equal in Samantha Berry. This, is our story.