"You were Romeo, you were throwin' pebbles"

You can call me [Stephanie] Romeo. And the metaphorical pebbles I was throwing were a $3.33 Hinge rose. That's right, I was the pursuer in the relationship. If you're unfamiliar with the concept of "Hinge roses", they are items in the popular dating app Hinge that you have to purchase to show someone that you're not just interested enough to swipe right, but to spend REAL money to give someone a FAKE rose. I knew I needed Robert's attention as soon as I saw his profile - he seemed so cool! So I took a risk and bought him a rose. Lucky for me, it worked!

"I close my eyes and the flashback starts"

The weird part about meeting someone on a dating app is that you start talking over text first, then meet in person later. Sometimes fantastic textual communications can fall flat in person, and you really never know what you're getting into until you meet up. Robert and I discovered in our early text conversations that we had a mutual friend - our lovely officiant Jordyn. Robert knew them through their work in the Sunrise Movement, and Jordyn and I met canvassing against an Austin ballot proposition that would criminalize homelessness. Knowing that Jordyn was trustworthy and would be honest with us, Robert and I both texted them the same thing:

"Is (s)he cool?"

"Romeo, take me somewhere we can be alone"

Jordyn thought we were both cool enough to reply affirmatively, so Robert and I met up for our first date on June 6, 2021 at Figure 8 Coffee. He showed up in an arm sling and a mask, and I was smitten. Or maybe it was from the lil basket of garden grown veggies he brought for me <3 We galavanted around town and talked nonstop all day. The rest is history.

"He knelt to the ground and pulled out a ring"

You might say I was the "pursuer" in our engagement as well, since I encouraged us to go to the jeweler "just to look" and we walked away with a deposit down on a ring (oopsie). Hey, sometimes when you know what you want, you just have to go for it. Robert officially proposed on Christmas Day 2023. I'm so grateful for Robert and his kind spirit. I feel like we could not be better suited for each other - we take care of each other, affirm each other, and support each other's hopes and dreams. We're both looking forward to a lifetime of love and laughter and cannot wait to share our wedding day with the people we hold most dear! xo