Joseph and Tatum’s journey began in 2019 during their freshman year of college. They met while living on the same floor and coincidentally Tatum’s roommate just so happened to be friends with Joseph from high school and middle school. Joseph tried his best to get to know Tatum, but whenever he asked her roommate about her, she playfully insisted that Tatum was "sleeping" as she had no interest at that time.

Fast forward to 6 May 2022, the end of their junior year, when Joseph pulled off a memorable fake proposal at Fat Daddy's bar, all in good fun while they were still just friends. Little did they know, this would be the beginning of something special.

That summer, while Tatum was in South Africa and Joseph stayed in Morgantown, they spoke every day. Joseph even asked Tatum to return to the US early to be his date for his brother's wedding! Although she didn’t come back early, when Tatum finally returned, everything fell into place. Their first date quickly turned into family introductions, and just a month and a half later on September 3, 2022, Joseph officially asked Tatum to be his girlfriend.

Fast forward a year and eight months, and Joseph decided it was time for a real proposal. On the same date as the "Fats Daddy's Bar Proposal" two years earlier, he asked Tatum to marry him, and she said yes! Joseph even learned how to say "Will you marry me?" in Afrikaans, which is Tatum's second language that she speaks.

Now, the couple is excited to plan their dream wedding in Cape Town, South Africa, surrounded by family and friends as they start this beautiful new chapter together.