Our story kind of begins in July 2019, when we first briefly met at a mutual friend’s birthday dinner. The extent of our interaction was enjoying good food and conversations, parting ways at the end of the night, with no expectations of crossing paths again.

Fast forward a few years later, Victoria had recently entered her single girl era, which consisted of being too tired to stay downtown until last call, then getting home and falling asleep with pizza in the oven. When Paul realized both he and Victoria were single, he was determined to re-meet – telling their mutual friend “just invite me to a happy hour, and I’ll take it from there.” At some point, Paul’s interest was made known to Victoria – “V, I know someone who’s interested in you. It’s Victor’s friend Paul,” to which Victoria replied, “who’s Paul?” (lol, sorry babe). She did what any girl would do, stalked his Instagram to see what he looked like, and the first thing she saw was that Paul was a wealth advisor. “He seems like a filet mignon type of guy, and I’m more of a chicken nugget kind of girl.”

A couple weeks later, Victoria stumbled on hidden messages on Instagram – the purgatory inbox that messages go to if it’s from a sender you don’t follow – and there was Paul. Having a conversation with himself in her inbox. She realized he’d messaged her a few other times before, which she had never seen. But his most recent message stuck out to her. He brought up that he heard she was training for the Austin Half Marathon, and that he didn’t know she was a runner (are you really a runner if you’re fighting for your life the entire time?) This intrigued her, probably because what single girl doesn’t like attention? And she responded, officially moving that message thread into her main IG messages.

They chatted back and forth, the replies a little faster and more frequent, taking them to Saturday, January 9th, 2022. Victoria shared with Paul that she ran 10 miles that morning. Naturally, Paul lied to Victoria and told her that her 10:30 pace was great! Meanwhile, Victoria fully unaware this man has run both half and full marathons and even a 10-minute mile would be painful for him because it’s too slow. Paul was slowly winning Victoria over, unbeknownst to her. That night, she went out with a few friends. Sushi and sake bombs at Maiko, turned into some cover band at Speakeasy on Congress, and the beginning of the most beautiful relationship.

Victor told Victoria he was texting Paul. Victoria said, “tell him to come out, I’m not going to be a b**ch to him” (playing cool girl who isn’t interested but might kind of be). Paul walked in and immediately caught Victoria’s eye – “who TF is that!?” Steven looks at her “THAT’S PAUL!” In that moment, she knew she was going to talk to this man. She found out a year later, that Paul knew when she “got up to go to the bathroom,” it was really so she had an excuse to go to his side of the table. He was right. Victoria made the first move, and they began chatting. A song came on and Paul asked her to dance, and he literally two-stepped his way into her heart. They shared a kiss on the dancefloor, and that must be the sparks people talk about when you find the one. They danced until the bars closed then exchanged numbers at the end of the night.

Paul had an early flight the next day, Victoria wondering when he would text her, and would they keep talking. They spent the next week texting all day every day, up until Paul returned to Austin. They shared a coffee date at Halcyon on a Friday before Victoria left for Dallas. Victoria was nervous for that second interaction but was captivated by his presence – his voice being the most calming and endearing, and what Victoria fell for first. She was captivated by him. She told her mom that weekend she felt she found her person, Paul echoing to Victoria similar sentiments as they continued to get to know each other.

They moved in together in April 2022. They’ve traveled – mostly to Colorado to snowboard, but also to Costa Rica and later this year will add Europe to the list. They purchased their first house in September 2023, and are enjoying the process of turning the house into a home. They've cheered each other on during several races - running the 3M side by side. Victoria ran her first full marathon in 2023, Paul jumping in to run with her a little over halfway through and then being by her side to cross the finish line. And Victoria looks forward to watching Paul become a Boston qualifier this year. They enjoy being active, making good drinks, indulging in pizza, and dream building their life together; but above all else, they enjoy spending time with each other.

They are each other’s homebase. Paul is the puzzle piece Victoria had been looking for, that final piece that brings the entire picture together – everything finally making sense. And Victoria is Paul’s biggest supporter, pushing him to pursue his dreams and passions.

Their love has been fast but unwavering. And they are thrilled to share this next chapter of their love story with each of you.

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