Angelo:

My cousin, Jennifer Rinaldi, once asked me to join her for a hike and mentioned that her girlfriend, Tammy, would be tagging along with us on our "therapy hike." From then on, the three of us would hang out quite a bit together.

Tammy:

My friend, Jennifer, kept telling me that good guys still existed, and she said she was going to introduce me to her cousin, Angelo, to prove it. He had lost his firstborn son, and I had lost my first marriage. We were both angry at the world, and his sense of humor was as goofy as mine.

I remember praying, "God, could I please have an Angelo."

At the time, I knew it wouldn't be HIM, because he smoked, and I didn't. LOL

We soon became the 3 musketeers and best of friends for a long time. I've actually known Angelo for about ten years.

Angelo:

At first, Tammy was very quiet and reserved. I quickly began to realize she was evaluating me and that she was, in fact, an enormous pain in the culo.

Tammy:

Angelo was a walking comedy act. It took me a very long time to realize he wondered if I was a possibility. It wasn't until he asked me once in Cheesecake Factory, "Why won't you consider dating me instead of all these a** clowns?"

Angelo:

For our first date we went to the movies, and she forgot her jacket. About ten minutes into the movie, I proceeded to go out to my vehicle to grab a spare hoodie so she would stop complaining how cold the movie theatre was and wouldn't freeze.

Tammy:

We went to see the movie "Train Wreck." We laughed like crazy, but the most memorable part was about ten minutes into the movie, when I thought he went out to get popcorn or something, but instead, he came back from his truck with a hoodie to help me warm up. The theatre was so freezing cold.

I later found out he had quit smoking and now I started to wonder.

Angelo:

About six weeks into dating, I had shared some deeply personal things with her that I had never shared with anyone, and at the time, I thought this would make her run.

She did not.

Tammy:

After about six weeks, he really opened up to me. I felt privileged to be trusted with his secrets. On our next date, he grabbed my left hand and asked what size I am. At that moment, I began to think this might be going somewhere.

He hadn't even kissed me yet.

And then... he did.

Angelo:

Same as always: "That's nice, just be careful."

Tammy:

For the most part, we love each other's families, and they enjoy being around us. We have been to many weddings together, and a couple of road trips with my boys as well. Another (unfortunate) thing we have in common is the lost of our firstborn sons - he lost Gabriele at birth, and I lost Benjamin at age 32.

Being around Angelo's family is a joy for me as they are very funloving, welcoming, and have been very supportive.

Most people know that Angelo and Tammy dated and were engaged about six years ago. The first time they had dated, Angelo would text Tammy in French (her family's language), and she would text him in Italian (his family's language). Google Translate was their best friend!

The first time Angelo proposed, they were on a sunrise trip to Soundview Beach, and Angelo had written "Will you marry me?" in French in the sand, and got down on one knee.

She said "Yes!"

Months later, once they started discussing wedding plans, issues arose that made them realize they were not ready for marriage, and they broke up horribly. After that, they rarely ever talked or texted.

In the meantime, God has brought them through some hard lessons while apart from one another.

On Valentine's Day, 2023, Tammy was home sick from covid with her youngest son, Ethan, and randomly texted "Happy Valentine's Day" to Angelo, as well as a bunch of her other single friends. For the first time, he texted back right away, and then called as soon as he found out about the two of them having covid.

He immediately went into a loving, protective stance, as that of a very close friend, and more. Since her and Ethan's recovery from covid, Angelo and Tammy have been fairly inseparable, and realized that God was speaking to them to get back together, this time keeping HIM in first place.

Tammy was excited and relieved to find out Angelo had quit smoking again on his own on January 1, 2023, without her influence.

The second time around, Angelo made his proposal after six months of resumed dating, while on a hike to a new location: Enders State Park in West Granby, CT. He sat her on a log, pulled out a Bible and made her read 5 different scripture verses pertaining to marriage. He asked what the verses had in common. She said "Marriage?" He said "Exactly."

He then got down on one knee and popped the question again, this time in English.

However... she didn't say "yes."

She said "Abso-f***ing-lutely!!"