Whitney and Eric first met with a mutual swipe right on Bumble. After messaging intermittently for a few days on the app, Whitney told Eric that she isn’t a big texter and would rather just meet in person to see if there was anything there. Eric agreed and asked Whitney out on their first date. Whitney was running late (and still runs late to everything) but eventually they were able to get a table for dinner and drinks. They hit it off instantly. Next thing they knew, the employees were cleaning and putting the chairs on the tables around them. Realizing the restaurant wanted to close and they were the last ones there, they decided to leave and set up a time to go out again. The second date came and again, they were kicked out of the restaurant as it was closing. Unfortunately, the next day Whitney was leaving for vacation with her family and Eric was going on vacation with his family a few days later, so they would have to wait to see each other again. As expected, by the end of their vacations, Whitney’s family knew all about Eric and Eric’s family had no idea that he was seeing anyone.

Fast forward a few months, Whitney and Eric were starting to fall in love when Eric decided it was time to add a dog to the mix. Whitney thought he was crazy for wanting to get a dog while they were still in a newer relationship, but eventually decided to go along with it as long as she got to pick the name. They drove up to Detroit together to pick up Ace. Ace rode the whole way back to Pittsburgh sitting on Whitney’s lap, making sure she would fall in love with him too. Other than a few hiccups along the way (Ace was a little nervous and a nervous dog’s gas can clear the room, much less a car), Ace managed to prove Eric right and become a good addition to the family. Eric and Whitney’s love continued to grow, and they both knew this would be more than a passing relationship. After a year of dating, Whitney was spending more time at Eric’s house than her apartment and they decided to move in together.

After living together for about a year, Eric knew that this was the person he wanted to spend the rest of his life with and started thinking of ways to propose. Knowing that Whitney is someone that likes big gestures, coming up with the right way to propose wasn’t going to be easy. After lots of research, Eric decided to propose while on vacation in Myrtle Beach. Eric chartered a private sailboat for the evening, but knowing Whitney would be suspicious, told her that a coworker recommended this boat ride and that 3 or 4 other couples could be on it but that they were the only ones booked so far. Eric planned with the Captain to take them to a deserted island where he would pop the question. Once on the island, Eric walked Whitney to the top of a sand dune hill overlooking the island and the ocean. That is when he got down on one knee to ask Whitney to marry him. Whitney said yes and they started their life together.