Nathan and Stephanie met in 2014 when they were both cast members in the Tony-snubbed Miami East High School production of Seussical. He was a Wickersham brother and she was a bird girl, and when she told him his hair looked good styled the way he had it for the shows, his world (and his hair) was never the same.

During college, they became closer and visited each other at OU and OSU, which is a totally normal thing for friends of the opposite sex who are definitely just friends to do. Each summer, Stephanie and Nathan would make time to hang out and catch up on the exciting things happening in their lives.

In 2016, Stephanie took an internship in Washington, DC. Undeterred, Nathan asked if they could exchange letters as an old-fashioned way to keep up with one another's lives. For the two years Stephanie lived in DC, they sent each other letters (another totally normal thing for friends of the opposite sex who are definitely just friends to do), FaceTimed, and hung out occasionally when Stephanie was back in Ohio. In their letters, they talked about music, books, life's big questions, current events, their families and friends, and their various love interests or relationships.

When Stephanie shared she was looking for jobs in Ohio, Nathan emphatically made the pitch for Columbus over Cincinnati, Cleveland, or Dayton. The fates aligned, and she landed in Columbus. Nathan was there on move-in day and then back again several weeks later when he received a panicked call from Stephanie's best friend, Sam, late on a Friday night about the appearance of a mouse in that same apartment. Despite being in no position to drive, he got an Uber and showed up like a modern knight in shining armor with mouse traps, calming Stephanie down to the point she was able to leave the chair she was perched on. It was not the first time Nathan had shown up for her, and he has shown up for her in every big and small moment since.

From there, Nathan and Stephanie spent more and more time together, unknowingly building a foundation for what would come. In November 2019, after a series of unfortunate events tested their friendship, Stephanie realized that ever since she had known him, Nathan had never been anything but patient, mature, loving, and supportive. They went to dinner and a movie one night just as friends (it was a date), and a lightbulb finally went off. When the topic of his Tinder account came up in a group of friends and she ruminated on it for a while, she begrudgingly realized she hated the idea of him being with someone else. After a period of stubborn denial, she talked to Nathan and he asked if she was sure she wanted to go down that road. She said she was, and his “I'm sure too” became a motto of their relationship.

Their love has since endured a global pandemic, job layoffs, a summer of living with their parents, a house hunt, everyday disagreements, and countless minor and major obstacles during a six-month international adventure across nine countries. In October 2022, during a period of homelessness after discovering bed bugs at their AirBNB in Brussels (is their relationship built on surviving infestations?...), Nathan proposed during a weekend trip to Amsterdam.

Now, their story is culminating in the joining of their two families and what is sure to be the party of the century.