Stephanie and Nick started at the University of Dayton in the fall of 2010, but didn't meet until the spring of 2013. Going into their senior years, Stephanie agreed to live with one of her classmates, who happened to be one of Nick's first friends at UD. And as luck would have it, Stephanie's house was on College Park, just two doors down from the SigEp house where Nick lived.

As neighbors they saw a lot of each other. Nick was good friends with half of Stephanie's housemates, so it wasn't uncommon for him to be around (whether he was invited or not). Throughout the year, they too became friends, but Nick hoped to be more than that. He asked her to formal, cooked her his signature chicken sopas dinner and even bought a ceramic bowl she made, all in an attempt to get closer with her. But their time together at UD was coming to a close, and they felt it wasn't the best idea to start a relationship when they'd both be moving back home.

Graduation came and went, but they stayed in touch. After a couple dates to the Columbus Zoo and a trip to visit her hometown, Stephanie and Nick started officially dating in August 2014! The only downfall, they were no longer two houses apart. Both had begun their careers, Stephanie in her hometown of Marion, OH and Nick an hour south in Columbus. The long-distance wasn't bad as they saw each other every weekend or more if possible. Unfortunately, the distance grew after two years when Nick's job re-located him to Detroit, MI. Now there was three hours and 175 miles between them. After many weekend trips and more than four years of being long-distance, Nick decided it was time to start closing the distance between them.

September 28, 2018 was an ordinary day for Stephanie. She went to work and then hit the road to visit Nick for the weekend. After making the three hour trek to Detroit, she was greeted by a very anxious Nick. Before she could get out of the car he shut the door on her, ran inside and came back in a change of clothes. Thoroughly confused by his strange behavior, Stephanie insisted that they go inside to escape the rain.

As she walked into his apartment Stephanie knew something was going on. The lights were turned off and a song was softly playing. When she rounded the kitchen corner she saw that Nick's dinning nook had been transformed, lit up with candles and tea lights. He took her by the hand and led her to the candlelit area, and then the flood gates opened. Fighting through the tears, Nick told Stephanie how much she meant to him, how beautiful life was with her in it and how he couldn't imagine having anyone else by his side. Getting down on one knee he popped the question and she said YES!